Access to Higher Education

This article reports on access to higher education in South Africa nearly twenty years after the formal demise of apartheid. It presents a description of the challenges facing South African society and schooling, which impact, on higher education and on its ability to transform itself from an exclusive system to one which is more representative of the general population. The study utilizes publicly available data about the education system as well as publicly available documentation and interview data about eight South African universities from a variety of socio-economic and geographic contexts. Using a framework for analysis derived from the work of social realist Margaret Archer on the interplay between structure, culture and agency, it considers limitations in the policy environment as well as the manner in which individuals at the meso level of the university constrain and enable change to occur.

Link para acceso al artículo:
https://revistas.ucu.edu.uy/index.php/paginasdeeducacion/article/view/2507
Resumen
En el contexto de mecanismos de admisión poco selectivos y gratuidad de los estudios en el sector público, la demanda social por estudios de educación superior creció fuertemente en Argentina. Este artículo analiza si el acceso a la educación superior argentina presenta patrones de desigualdad social. Para ello se estudia si la probabilidad de acceso a la educación superior que tiene cada egresado del nivel secundario difiere según su posición en la estratificación económica, el nivel educativo del hogar y el género. Tras estimar un modelo de regresión logística se encontró que las chances de acceso a la educación superior son menores para los jóvenes de nivel socioeconómico bajo y primera generación con educación universitaria. La juventud que habita hogares de menor ingreso económico y capital cultural tiene además mayor probabilidad de estudiar carreras terciarias que universitarias y de asistir a una institución pública que privada.
Abstract
In the context of not very selective admission mechanisms and free studies in the public sector, the social demand for higher education studies has grown vigorously in Argentina. This article analyzes whether access to higher education in Argentina presents patterns of social inequality. To do this, it is analyzed whether the participation each high school graduate differs according to the position in the economic stratification, the cultural capital of the home and the gender. After estimating a logistic regression model, it was found that the chances of access to higher education are lower for young people of low socioeconomic level and first generation with university education. The youth who live in households with lower economic income and cultural capital are also more likely to study tertiary careers than university ones and to attend a public institution than a private one.

The government of South Africa, through the national department of education and various provincial education branches, has called for an upscale in the use of multigrade teaching in primary schools, many of which are located in rural areas where, for various reasons, it is a challenge to get teachers to take up teaching appointments. At the same time as the country faces teacher shortages, there is also a situation of underqualified and unqualified teachers in the school system. Drawing on a literature review and data collected in a qualitative study, this article sampled 25 multigrade teachers in rural township and farm schools in the Eastern Cape and reported on the professional training needs of these teachers and the implications for teacher in-service education and training in a higher education institution. It revealed multigrade teaching skills deficiency among teachers, many of whom were underqualified as professional teachers. In-service education programmes, such as the BEd programme, which are supposed to address practising teachers’ professional training
needs, do not have modules or topics on multigrade teaching. The author proposed key areas of training to address multigrade teachers’ needs and ways to incorporate multigrade topics into the BEd in-service programme, but theorised that the absence of multigrade in mainstream teacher training schemes is further evidence of the lack of recognition of multigrade as a legitimate practice in schools. Avenues for further research have been proposed.

* The number of males entering higher education via an enabling pathway is slowly increasing; yet, males still battle with the anti-intellectual attitude that is prevalent in regional areas of Australia. Previous research undertaken by the authors began exploring the factors that inhibited or enhanced the male experience within an enabling course. This paper expands upon this research with a deeper focus on the male experience through personalised accounts derived from individual interviews. Using qualitative methodology and narrative inquiry, the findings provide a deeper understanding of the issues that males of different ages face when creating a new identity as a university student. This paper shares insights into what motivated the male students to enter university via an enabling pathway; the actual personal experiences both positive and negative during this time; and the effect that this commitment to study had on them personally and the people around them. The lens of transformative theory underpins this research through exploring frames of reference that align with the students' experiences. Portraiture prose shares the individual stories which are analysed and the key findings extrapolated. *This article was first presented at the National Association of Enabling Educators of Australia Conference, Gold Coast, Australia in December 2017 and was selected via the peer review process as one of the top-rated papers. The authors have kindly given their permission to have this article published in this special issue of the Journal and it has undergone a further review by the guest editors to confirm it aligns with the Journal standards. Student Success: A journal exploring the experiences of students in tertiary education This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence. As an open access journal, articles are free to use, with proper attribution, in educational and other non-commercial settings. ISSN: 2205-0795 Males in Enabling: Painting a portrait through narrative

This paper presents results of a questionnaire survey of 1400 Year 13 (final-year) school and sixth-form pupils in two contrasting areas of England, which asked them about their thoughts and plans to study at university abroad. Key questions that the survey sought to answer were the following. How many and what proportion of all higher education (HE) applicants, apply, or consider applying, to university outside the UK? What are their reasons for doing so? What are their distinguishing characteristics as regards type of school (state vs. private), academic record, parental socio-occupational background and prior contacts abroad? The questionnaire data were supported, but occasionally contradicted, by interviews with school staff members responsible for coordinating and advising on the HE application process. Approximately 3% of pupils apply to study abroad (most also apply to UK universities) and another 10% consider applying but do not do so. North America, Australia and Ireland are favoured destinations; not mainland, non-English-speaking Europe. Quality of university and desire for adventure are the most important motivations. Decisions to apply abroad are strongly correlated to the academic results of pupils (the best apply), to prior connections abroad (travel, holidays, residence abroad, etc.) and to a range of overlapping indicators of parental wealth and social class. The theoretical and policy implications of the research are also considered. Study abroad creates an 'elite within an elite' and works against government agendas of widening participation. On the other hand, English students' foreign experience potentially enhances their interculturalism and graduate labour market competitiveness, yet raises spectres of 'brain drain' of the 'brightest and best'.