An exploration of how black, successful university students from low socio-economic backgrounds experience and negotiate the university space.
Date
2021
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Abstract
Legislation and policies developed for the transformation of higher education in South
Africa, has led to significant gains for the beneficiaries of the sector. For instance, there has
been a significant increase in access to higher education. However, although there has been
significant progress, there is still a long way to go. This study sought to explore the
experiences of black successful students from low socio-economic backgrounds at
university. In essence, the study set out to understand the enabling and constraining factors
that the students experienced. The study was a qualitative study, located within the critical
research paradigm. Semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions were used to
collect the data for the study. Bourdieu’s notions of capital, field and habitus were deployed
to understand the experiences of the students.
Findings of the study revealed that, while the participants reproduced some aspects of
middle-class culture, they resisted its social and political logic and did not assist it to achieve
its mission of reproducing and legitimising inequality. That is, the participants used their
agency to demand from education what it had committed to, but had not given, in order to
achieve academically. For instance, higher education demanded possession of linguistic
capital, which basic education had not given. However, in response, students, often with the
help of the university, found ways to push against middle class codes framing access to
higher education in order to achieve academically. However, in certain cases, the collision
of their working-class upbringing with middle-class thinking presented difficulties for some
participants. These participants often struggled to maintain positive ties with their family
and friends, who began to see them as outsiders. For example, the participants reported
estrangement from their families and friends. However, participants’ narratives revealed
that, for some of their families, this was a product of deprivation, which required all of their
attention.
Findings suggests that deficiency and lack of technological and laboratory skills are not a
given for students from low socio-economic backgrounds; they must be fought for.
However, with the appropriate support, students from these contexts can deploy their agency
to push boundaries, navigate the toxic mix of disadvantage and succeed academically.
Description
Masters Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg.