Exploring pathways to the public good of South African undergraduate education: Implications for policies and practices

Conference programme

#HEpathways

In what ways does South African undergraduate education have a transformative impact on people and society? What conditions are required for this impact to occur? What are the pathways from an undergraduate education to the public good? What are the implications of these pathways for policy makers, institutional managers, and higher education researchers and practitioners?

This two day conference will explore the answers to these questions that were developed through an ESRC–NRF funded project undertaken as part of the Centre for Global Higher Education. The project drew together a team of international and South African researchers. The distinctive contribution of this project was to bring together empirical evidence and conceptual debates across three domains of the higher education trajectory that are often considered in isolation: access to higher education, student experience, and graduate outcomes.

The first day of the conference will focus on the implications of the outcomes of the project for policy makers and practitioners and the second day will focus on the implications for researchers. Each day will involve presentations of the outcomes from the project team followed by opportunities to explore their implications in small groups.

The conference will also mark the launch of an open-access edited book based on the outcomes from the project, which will be available to participants at the conference.

Project leaders

• Paul Ashwin, Lancaster University, UK
• Jenni Case, Virginia Tech, USA

Access theme

Theme Leaders

• Vincent Carpentier, University College, London, UK
• Rajani Naidoo, University of Bath, UK
• Melanie Walker, University of the Free State

Theme Members

• Talita Calitz, University of the Free State
• Honjiswa Conana, University of the Western Cape
• Mikateko Höppener, University of the Free State
• Patrício Langa University of the Western Cape
• Yann Lebeau, University of East Anglia, UK
• Langutani Masehela, University of Venda,
• Gerald Ouma, University of Pretoria
• Jussi Välimaa, University of Jyväskylä, Finland

Student Experience theme

Theme Leaders

• Paul Ashwin, Lancaster University, UK
• Sioux McKenna, Rhodes University
• Rebecca Schendel, University College London, UK

Theme Members

• Mandy Hlengwa, Rhodes University
• Janja Komljenovic, Lancaster University, UK
• Philippa Kerr, University of the Free State
• Thierry Luescher, Human Sciences Research Council, Cape Town
• Monica McLean, University of Nottingham, UK
• Thandeka Mkhize, Sur University College, Oman
• Thando Njovane, Rhodes University
• Suellen Shay, University of Cape Town

Graduate Outcomes theme

Theme Leaders

• Jenni Case, Virginia Tech, USA
• Delia Marshall, University of the Western Cape
• Tristan McCowan, University College, London, UK

Theme Members

• Stephanie Allais, University of the Witwatersrand
• Sherran Clarence, Independent Researcher, Cape Town
• Rosemary Deem, Royal Holloway, University of London, UK
• Sam Fongwa, Human Sciences Research Council, Cape Town
• Bruce Kloot, University of Cape Town,
• Giulio Marini, University College, London, UK
• Siphelo Ngcwangu, University of Johannesburg
• Ibrahim Oanda, Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa
• Renato Pedrosa, University of Campinas, Brazil