This article draws on findings from a qualitative study of academics' role in higher education's contribution to the public good based on 15 interviews with academics from two universities in South Africa. I argue that if higher education in South Africa is to transform for the public good, the transformation of the university academic staff needs…

South Africa is inherently a violent country. From the service delivery protests, rise in murder rates, gender-based violence, and an increasingly violent higher education sector; South Africans are increasingly feeling vulnerable and despondent about the future. In this paper, I attempt to provide a conceptual understanding of violence in higher…

The article begins with South Africa as a false metaphor for racial progress, clarifying how the removal of apartheid policies ultimately justifies ongoing anti-Black structures that reinforce societal segregation. While educational sectors appropriate movements to decolonise racially disparate systems, minor educational reforms proliferate across…

Debates on educational exclusion are almost exclusively focused on the experiences of learners as they navigate their way through barriers of race, culture, gender, sexuality, class, disability and language. Similar attention has not been afforded to the experiences of teachers, creating the impression that, unlike learners, teachers do not…

In this work, we contribute to the debate on the transformation of higher education institutions (HEIs) in post-apartheid South Africa by examining the changing demography of academic staff bodies at 25 South African HEIs from 2005 to 2015. We use empirical data to provide initial insights into the changing racial profiles of academic staff bodies…

Teaching is complicated, and is compounded by changes in the education landscape as far as diversity is concerned. This has forced education planners to reconsider the manner in which initial teacher education programs are structured, to meet the needs of the diverse classroom population. This study reports on the experiences of South African…

In South African public higher education, the miseducative legacies of the past weigh heavily. This article offers our learning as leaders of a multicultural community of university educators that seeks to contribute towards repairing the damages of a divided and discriminatory past by means of self-study research. Through a collaborative…

South African organisations and particularly institutions of higher learning have been confronted with workforces that increasingly reflect the diversity of the South African population. This changing workforce composition implies that the multitude of individual and cultural differences and similarities become increasingly apparent among…

In the post-apartheid era, South African universities are striving to attract and retain diverse faculty, as mandated by the 1998 Employment Equity Act (EEA). While the focus on faculty is critical to the transformation agenda, it is informative to step back and consider the factors that influence graduate students' decisions regarding joining the…

In this article I survey educational research conducted in South Africa based on articles published in the "South African Journal of Education" ("SAJHE") over the past five years. The themes that feature prominently in "SAJHE" over the past five years are: "Africanisation and indigenous knowledge,"…

Higher education systems, globally, are being called upon to effect changes in terms of widening student access and diversifying a previously homogenous academic staff profile. In South Africa, one of the main forces driving the diversification of academic staff is state policy in the form of employment equity legislation, with racial redress…

"Studying Diversity in Teacher Education" is a collaborative effort by experts seeking to elucidate one of the most important issues facing education today. First, the volume examines historically persistent, yet unresolved issues in teacher education and presents research that is currently being done to address these issues. Second, it…

An attempt is made to assess the effect of human resource diversity in South Africa and provide strategies for managing such diverse institutions. A pilot study using questionnaires was conducted to determine the circumstances surrounding workforce diversity in a number of educational institutions. Thereafter, qualitative interviews provided…

Examines policies and programs at the University of Cape Town, an English-language South African university, and the University of Stellenbosch, an Afrikaans-language university, aimed at diversifying their faculties' racial composition. Assesses underlying assumptions, overall objectives, and effectiveness in recruiting and retaining Black…

Explores the challenges of employment equity, particularly gender equity, in South African higher education against the backdrop of tensions between equity and excellence. Reviews the policy context and staff equity statistics. Outlines barriers facing women in higher education and women's responses, discussing women as change agents who utilize…