Students, particularly those at academic risk, often experience feelings of alienation and lack a sense of belonging. This can make them reluctant to seek help. A sense of belonging and the willingness to seek help are therefore closely linked. Persistent socioeconomic disparities, inherited from apartheid, make this especially challenging for…

This qualitative study explored and described South African students' experiences and perceptions regarding academic success. Focus group participants related academic success not only to achievement, but also to goal attainment, feelings of satisfaction, and the application of new skills. Academically successful students were associated with…

This chapter details two key aspects of the scholarship students' accounts of their experiences in the elite school context. Firstly, the chapter discusses the required adjustments the students felt that they needed to make to fit in by drawing on Bourdieu's concepts of developing a "practical sense" for the "game" of elite…

Background: Learning support in South Africa is a phenomenon where learners who experience barriers to learning are withdrawn from the mainstream class and receive support in their home language and mathematics. A need for learning support surfaced when emphasis was placed on inclusivity in mainstream schools. The efficacy of this withdrawal on…

Fagan (1986, p. 859) stated many years ago that "school psychology has survived the complex interaction between education and psychology, and will continue to do so in future". Applied and adapted to South(ern) Africa of 2007, one may ask whether inclusive education will survive the complex interaction with the HIV and AIDS pandemic, and…