Doctoral Degrees (Centre for Development Support)

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Open Access
A framework for facilitating the transition from school to university in South Africa: a capabilities approach
(University of the Free State, 12-Nov) Wilson-Strydom, Merridy; Hay, H. R.
Access to university in South Africa has been, and continues to be, a highly contested area that is plagued with many layers of complexity rooted in the social, political and educational past and present. Situated within an overarching commitment to fair and just higher education, in this thesis I have attempted to understand the complex field of access to university. I have done this by focusing on the transition from school to university, through the lens of the capabilities approach as developed by Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum. The capabilities approach provides a framework for seeking to understand what young people entering universities are able to be and to do and what limits their being and doing. As such, the capabilities approach requires us to move beyond measurable access statistics to a more nuanced understanding of the agency and well-being of students admitted to university. Four research questions guided the study. 1. How do first-year students at the UFS experience the transition to university in their first year of study? 2. How do learners in Grades 10, 11 and 12 from local UFS feeder high schools experience the process of preparation for and access to university? 3. How can these experiences of the interface between school and university be theorised using a capabilities-based social justice framework? 4. Based on the evidence from the research, what interventions could support efforts towards a more socially just transition for these students? Working within a pragmatic paradigm, the study employed a mixed methods research design. My starting assumption was that in order to thoroughly understand the transition to university, it is necessary to study both the final years of schooling and the first-year at university. As such, the study focused on the University of the Free State (UFS) and a sample of 20 feeder schools. A total of 2816 learners in Grades 10, 11 and 12 completed the quantitative South African High School Survey of Learner Engagement (SAHSSLE) (adapted from the version used in the United States) in September 2009. The SAHSSLE provides a wealth of data regarding educational practices at school as well as learners’ experiences and attitudes towards their education. A smaller sample of 33 learners also completed qualitative reflections on their school experience, plans for universities and their ‘university knowledge’. At the university level, I collected qualitative data from 128 first-year students in 2009 using focus group methodology. In 2010 an additional sample of 142 first-year students were asked to provide a written description of their first month at university and to draw a picture of how they experienced the transition. The thesis covers much theoretical ground related to higher education and social justice as well as in the specific study area of access. In the access domain I make use of Conley’s multidimensional model of university readiness together with research on effective educational practices that underpins the student engagement literature and instruments. Drawing on the theory and literature, I propose an ideal theoretical capabilities list for the transition to university. Following a detailed presentation of the empirical results structured in two main sections, namely: transition to university experiences and readiness for university; I then make use of the capabilities framework to theorise the transition to university. Taking the well-being of students as the starting point, the capabilities framework for the transition to university asks what the outcome of a successful transition should be. Rather than defining success merely as measurable performance (such as changing enrolment demographics, credits passed in the first-year or progression to the second year of study for example) which does not take student well-being into account; the capabilities framework presented argues that educational resilience should be regarded as the outcome of a successful transition to university. In this context, resilience is defined as follows: • Being able to navigate the transition from school to university within individual life contexts; • Being able to negotiate risk, to persevere academically and to be responsive to educational opportunities and adaptive constraints; and • Having aspirations and hopes for a successful university career. A pragmatic capabilities list and framework for the transition to university is proposed and defended, together with specific recommendations for how this framework could be applied to facilitate the transition to university. The seven capabilities for the transition to university are as follows: 1. Practical reason 2. Knowledge and imagination 3. Learning disposition 4. Social relations and social networks 5. Respect, dignity and recognition 6. Emotional health and reflexivity 7. Language competence and confidence. These seven capabilities encompass the lessons learned from the literature review of university access and the first-year at university, the capabilities literature, and the empirical data within an overarching commitment to social justice and the promotion of the well-being of students. The thesis ends by considering what the UFS could do differently to facilitate the transition as well as what the UFS could do in partnership with schools.
Open Access
Universities in regional development: knowledge transfer in a less favoured region
(University of the Free State, 13-Jun) Fongwa, Neba Samuel; Marais, J. G. L.; Atkinson, D.; Cloete, N.
𝑬𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒉 This dissertation is an exploratory study aimed at increasing the theoretical and empirical understanding of knowledge transfer from a university to its region. The study builds on the increased emphasis on the role of universities as ‘engines’ for development. By using the Faculty of Agriculture at the University of the Free State, South Africa as a case study, this study aimed to provide a nuanced understand of the factors affecting knowledge transfer between academics and stakeholders in a less favoured region. By means of the learning region concept and supported by other empirical studies, key indicators were identified from the literature and were developed for investigation. A qualitative approach was followed to collect data from academics in the Faculty of Agriculture and from relevant stakeholders by means of semi-structured interviews and a detailed review of some key policy documents. Institutional data, farmer databases and an academic survey provided quantitative data with a view to facilitating the triangulation of data and the minimising of bias. Findings from the study revealed that the process of knowledge transfer from the UFS was affected by a combination of demand and supply factors. Some of the factors affecting supply included the nature and the history of the UFS and the Faculty of Agriculture, adequate incentive structures, the level of policy alignment and the embeddedness of knowledge outputs from the faculty. Demand factors included the absorptive capacity of the region, the presence of coordinated demand systems and the nature of the networks that existed between stakeholders. This thesis argues that because of institutional lock-ins in the region ‒ that have led to path dependency in the practice of agriculture ‒ knowledge from the faculty has failed to realise its potential in respect of contributing to regional development. While there is evidence of networks between farmers and academics, the network forms are ‘distorted’ and as yet strongly embedded along historical social and racial lines. There is also limited evidence of a properly institutionalised notion of engagement with emerging farmers and thus knowledge transfer continues to be path dependent. The findings have implications for the UFS, for the faculty and for the region. While the UFS has defined itself as having both a national and an international agenda, the university will consciously have to define its regional role and then have to establish structures for active engagement ‒ not only broadly but also specifically with the agricultural sector. At the faculty level, engagement needs to be reconceptualised, with engagement moving from a philanthropic ethos to one that is part of the core function of teaching and learning. At the regional level, there is a need for the establishment of new forums in which the UFS and the different stakeholders may engage. More importantly, these initiatives will have to be built on trust, social capital and networks for collective benefits to result.
Open Access
Promoting conservation agriculture and commercial farmers in the Eastern Free State
(University of the Free State, 14-May) Knot, Jakob; Atkinson, Doreen; Le Roux, Pieter
Agriculture contributes to greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) through practices that reduce the amount of soil organic carbon. Examples of this are fallow and intensive tillage. Conventional ways of farming are not sustainable as soils are degraded, imbalanced, over-utilized, low in organic matter and without heavy inorganic fertilizer good yields are not possible. Sustainable crop production however is essential for South Africa’s food security, employment and contribution to the national economy. The sustainability of agriculture needs therefore to address environmental, economical and sociological aspects. Conservation Agriculture (CA) is world-wide found as an antipode against soil degradation, erosion and ineffective water conservation as a result of conventional tillage. The problem, however is that CA is a much developed product of No-till, which requires a gradual and timely process. No-tillage in itself is not the desired outcome, but a first step to CA. Ample technical research has been conducted on no-tillage and CA reflecting improved soil quality, yields and profits (see paper 1). This thesis will elaborate more on local technical issues e.g. soil quality (paper 4) and profitability (paper 3), as to contribute to the increased adoption of sustainable farming. This thesis emphasized the urgency for transdisciplinary research and the role of sociology in innovation studies. The role of sociology is often overlooked, but this thesis advocates that sociology is an integral part of transdisciplinary research. Narratives are useful methods of explaining what NT and CA is (see paper 2). The Actor Network Theory is useful in that farmers possess “agency” as a result of networking, which enables the uptake of an innovation of NT and in addition to develop into context related or ecotype specific CA production system (see paper 5). This thesis addressed conventional farmers barriers to adopting NT e.g. livestock integration, doubt concerning profitability and lack of knowhow. This thesis contributes to environmental awareness and promotes that CA can mitigate GHG emissions through sequestration of organic carbon in the soil (paper 4) and reflecting direct and indirect environmental costs in terms of GHG through the use of diesel, fertilizer, pesticides and other chemicals (see paper 3).
Open Access
Quality as human development: a case study of teaching and learning in Zimbabwean universities
(University of the Free State, 16-Dec) Mukwambo, Patience; Walker, Melanie; Wilson-Strydom, Merridy; Loots, Sonja
𝑬𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒉 The study contributes to work in conceptualising quality in higher education teaching and learning. Most studies focusing on quality have been from a human capital standpoint, with little examination of quality from a human development perspective, and even less focusing on the Zimbabwean context. This analytical focus on human development through the capabilities approach therefore diverges from the current emphasis on human capital. The thesis examines factors influencing the definition and conceptualisation of quality of teaching and learning in a developing country context, highlighting gaps that a human development perspective can add. Assuming that their presence are indicative of quality, I use two ideal-theoretical human development indicators namely, critical being and the capability for work. These I argue, are aspirational capabilities in the Zimbabwean context and important in higher education because of their fostering of public-good graduates concerned with human wellbeing beyond the instrumental value of education. Data for this study was collected in three phases through policy document review, observations and in-depth interviews with purposively sampled participants. Phase one comprised document review and three interviews with participants from Zimbabwe’s higher education quality assurance body, Zimbabwe Council for Higher Education. Phase two involved telephone interviews with quality assurance representatives from eight universities. Phase three was an in-depth examination of two case studies through interviews with the university representative, two deans, four lecturers and two focus group discussions with students from each “best case” department as identified by the university representative. Data was analysed thematically. Findings from the study highlight the complex interactions of contextual factors and national policy which inform and affect practice. Overall, and understandably considering the socio-political and economic climate, Zimbabwean higher education is largely influenced by human capital concerns, although there are instances of concern with human development. There is also a disjuncture between quality as policy and quality as practice with macro and meso policy makers conceptualising quality as an evaluative tool and lecturers largely interpreting it as the teaching and learning process. The results facilitate a discussion on the potential of a stronger human development influence on ideas of quality in different higher education contexts. While critical being stood as an indicator for quality, due to the prevailing socio-political economy in Zimbabwe, there was a need to revise the capability for work. Providing a global Southern interpretation of quality, the thesis argues that the conceptualisation and operationalization of quality needs to be broadened to foster human development in order to fully appreciate the role of higher education in development.
Open Access
Perspectives on engineering education in universities and its contribution to sustainable human development in Germany and South Africa
(University of the Free State, 16-Feb) Höppener, Mikateko; Walker, Melanie; Wilson-Strydom, Merridy
𝑬𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒉 Most literature on higher education and engineering education in particular, is based on data gathered from the global North, written from global North perspectives. Comparatively few studies focus on normative accounts of education for sustainable development based on data from developing countries, and written from global South perspectives. While there is value in exploring views from different contexts separately, what is original and significant about the work of this thesis is the examination of these perspectives together, combining a normative approach with original empirical work, and recognising that they are different outlooks on the same issue: how engineering education in universities contributes to sustainable human development. Instead of dichotomising global North/South perspectives, the thesis combines the views of individuals whose teaching and learning, higher education and/or professional careers in engineering have taken place in the global North (Germany) and global South (South Africa) for its empirical base. Specifically, the viewpoints of 18 masters students and 10 lecturers from engineering faculties at Universität Bremen (Germany) and the University of Cape Town (South Africa), as well as 10 engineering employers from both countries, were explored using qualitative methods (semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions). The research questions addressed in this thesis relate to how engineering education in universities enlarges the capabilities of engineering graduates, so that they might become agents of sustainable human development. The perspectives, often surprisingly similar across the two countries, offer contrasting and critical views on the assumption that society is in pursuit of an agenda for ‘sustainability’ that is valuable for all, and of future engineers’ roles in determining such an agenda. The findings also show that the participants perceive degrees of ambiguity about the extent to which engineers are educated to use their skills, knowledge, and effective power as professionals who contribute to solving human development and sustainability challenges in a just way. That is, in a way that explicitly prioritises poverty reduction and advances social justice. Reflecting on these perspectives from Germany and South Africa, the thesis considers what justice-based, capability-inspired engineering education might look like, if it is to enhance future engineers’ opportunities to use their agency to practice public-good engineering for human development.
Open Access
Democratic capabilities research: an undergraduate experience to advance socially just higher education in South Africa
(University of the Free State, 18-Aug) Martinez-Vargas, Carmen; Walker, Melanie; Nkhoma, Nelson; Wilson-Strydom, Merridy
Universities are complex institutions that need to be in constant questioning and iteration to improve and serve the larger society. Nevertheless, the latest protests in the South African higher education institutions are a sign of challenging times. Protests have recognised the perpetuation of inequalities and the need to decolonise institutions. Furthermore, this debate has been ongoing within academia for decades, looking for ways to confront the colonial issues, especially in the area of knowledge production, investigating how knowledge is produced and distributed within the dominant system. Many of these concerns are related to European-Western domination over other ways of producing knowledge, jeopardising the wide range of knowledge systems in the world. This highlights the substantial importance of scrutinising how we create knowledge as scholars and how we can advance towards social justice by overcoming these persistent challenges, especially within higher education institutions in the Global South. Participatory methods, methodologies, and research processes are part of this internal intellectual project within higher education institutions trying to challenge the persistence of colonial issues. This field has developed into a fruitful and legitimate research area awash with a diversity of theoretical and practical insights, not only related to decolonisation and knowledge democratisation, but also focusing on action and participation. Nevertheless, the result has been a very diverse field that pervasively embraces various theoretical and practical perspectives, often contradictory, leading to theoretical and practical inconsistencies, incongruences and contradictions. To take up this challenge, the Capabilities Approach proposes a theoretical space to reflect and reconsider epistemological, methodological and operational issues, providing a solid people- centred theoretical frame. Moreover, participatory methods, methodologies, and research processes, have been drawing on capabilities lenses in multiple development and educational interventions. Nonetheless, this capabilities research area is still under-researched and is far from having reached its full potential. Scholars within the capabilities sphere have not yet achieved a consensual proposal such as a participatory capabilities-based research. Thus, the research questions that guided this study are: How can a participatory capabilities-based research project be conceptualised and implemented in the light of the CA and participatory approaches towards socially just higher education, given the academic gap between both fields and incongruences within participatory approaches? Which opportunities, challenges and lessons with regard to social justice and capabilities expansion emerge from a participatory capabilities-based case study with undergraduate students in South Africa towards socially-just higher education? Which capabilities do these undergraduate students have reason to value and why? Which of these capabilities are being expanded through the involvement in a participatory capabilities-based case study experience? This project innovatively conceptualises and applies this participatory capabilities-based research as ‘Democratic Capabilities Research’ (DCR). It outlines DCR as a reflexive and pedagogical space to advance more just practices, especially in the context of hierarchical knowledge practices in universities in the South, and the marginalisation of youth voices in knowledge production. The ambition is to both generate democratic and inclusive knowledge creation and advance social justice, through the theorisation and empirical exploration of a DCR case study in South Africa. Therefore, the methodology used for this research is a case study of a DCR participatory research project. This case study not only investigates the application of a DCR project but also its production throughout the project as a research outcome. The case study was developed and implemented at a previously historically advantaged Afrikaans-speaking research and teaching university in South Africa. A group of twelve volunteer undergraduate students worked as co- researchers with the doctoral research fellow over one academic year. In the process, they challenged persistent institutional hierarchies and their marginal position in university structures of knowledge production. Multiple data sources were collected over the year (2017), including individual interviews at three different stages of the DCR project, personal journals produced by each of the co-researchers and the researcher, and participant observation over the nine DCR workshops. In undertaking the case study, the project also confronted the dilemma around legitimate knowledge and legitimate forms of knowledge production. Thus, the study had to deal with the tensions of non-ideal research settings, and between producing a doctoral study and the actual practices of DCR, and how these ‘legs’ of the research both go together, yet are separate. The study shows that a participatory capabilities-based conceptualisation of a participatory research can challenge and resolve some of the actual limitations within the broad family of participatory approaches. Thus, the study presents five foundational principles for DCR to guide participatory practices. Furthermore, the study reveals that capabilities are rich sources of information to design and evaluate participatory projects such as DCR. However, the capabilities chosen to guide us should be valued capabilities by the participants and not generic capabilities lists, such as Nussbaum’s central capabilities. The findings show that valued capabilities are dynamic, latent and contextual and therefore we have good reasons to explore these specificities in order to orient our DCR participatory practice in the direction of the lives the participants have reasons to value. Additionally, the findings highlight the impact of using individual valued capabilities as evaluative frames. Presenting two student cases from among the twelve participants, the data shows that getting to know the participants before our participatory practices, understanding the way they enjoy their capabilities before the project commences, can enhance the way we assess our DCR practice by exploring functionings among their valued capabilities. In this way, the evaluative space is expanded and avoids previous paternalist frames directing our practices towards the lives the participants want to lead. Moreover, as DCR goes beyond capabilities expansion and achievement, the theorisation of DCR is presented and revised after the empirical data has been analysed in order to review the five initial principles guiding us in our capabilities-based participatory practice. The significance of this study is based on an unexplored research area linking capabilities with participatory research practices. Furthermore, the study intentionally uses an open-ended perspective of the CA that highlights its potential as a grassroots approach to provide an original and locally related research alternative in the form of DCR, towards a more just, decolonial and democratic way of knowledge creation within Global South higher education institutions.
Open Access
Multi-dimensional student poverty at a South African university: a capabilities approach
(University of the Free State, 18-Nov) Ruswa, Anesu Sam; Wilson-Strydom, Merridy; Walker, Melanie; Igene-Agbedahin, Adesuwa Vanessa
The thesis contributes to work in the conceptualisation and measurement of multidimensional student poverty in South Africa through exploring and measuring multidimensional student poverty at one South African university. Although a number of studies have examined student poverty in South Africa, very few have done so using a multidimensional theoretical approach backed by a socially just and reflexive methodology. The study weighed the merits of various approaches to multidimensional poverty and advocates for the human development approach, operationalised through the capabilities approach, as the most socially just theoretical lens through which student poverty can be conceptualised and measured. One of the main objectives of the study is to design a multidimensional student poverty index based on the understandings and experiences of students at a South African university. To that end, the study adopted and adapted the Alkire-Foster methodology, augmented with the Individual Deprivation Measure, thereby making a methodological contribution through the designing and implementation of a hybrid method. An exploratory sequential mixed methods inquiry was used in the data collection, data analysis and results theorisation phases of the research. Qualitative data was collected through iterative in-depth key informant interviews (three informants interviewed twice each) and four independent rounds of guided focus groups comprising thirty-two students (eight students in each of the three initial groups, and eight in the final follow-up focus group). Participatory methods were employed to determine dimensions of student poverty. Five broad dimensions and twenty- five indicators of student deprivations were identified from the data. The dimensions of deprivations identified are basic needs, learning resources, living arrangements, participation and psychological wellbeing. The qualitative data was analysed using Nvivo software and the results informed the design of the survey questionnaire, which was administered online and by means of hard copies at a South African university using Evasys, which is an electronic survey management platform. Two thousand three hundred and six (2306) students completed the survey. STATA, R, MS-VBA, and SPSS statistical software was used to analyse the quantitative data. Over and above the results showing the incidence and intensity of student poverty, an aggregate as well as sub- group decomposed multidimensional student poverty index and indices were presented. Multiple statistical and robustness tests were also carried out to test the validity of the index. The study shows that about 18% of the all students at the case study university are multidimensionally poor. More so, male students, students on the government-funded National Students Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), and off-campus students have the highest incidences of multidimensional poverty. The mixed methods and hybrid methodology advanced in this study offers more value than purely qualitative or quantitative techniques as it captures both the depth and breadth of student poverty. Beyond making a contribution to how multidimensional student poverty can be measured, the study makes a significant contribution to how student poverty is conceptualised and understood in general, thereby giving policy makers a different frame through which to find normative solutions to the challenge of student poverty.
Open Access
Self-initiated strategies for labour market integration among tied migrants in South Africa
(University of the Free State, 21-Nov) Zinatsa, Farirai; Saurombe, Musawenkosi Donia; Matebesi, Sethulego
South Africa is a hub for migration in sub-Saharan Africa and a prominent reservoir of migratory flows within and beyond the Southern African Development Community (SADC). Since the early 2000s, this skills-constrained country has implemented policies to harness the talents of skilled migrants for economic growth and development. On the part of migrants, the decision to emigrate represents an opportunity to improve their social and economic well-being and support their families back home in remittances. Skilled female migrants emigrating within the context of family as accompanying spouses (also known as tied migrants) remain obscured, particularly in the Global South, where the image of a skilled migrant is typically regarded as male. Tied migrants face multiple disadvantages that impact their ability to integrate themselves in the labour market in host countries. In the absence of support, they must devise their own strategies for LMI. Extant research on the labour market integration (LMI) of these migrants focuses mainly on the experiences of those who emigrate from the Global South to the Global North. Not much is known about the LMI of tied migrants who emigrate from one developing country to another, that is, within the Global South. This knowledge is essential in the context of the growing significance and magnitude of south-to-south migratory flows. Therefore, this thesis sought in-depth elucidation of how tied migrant outcomes concerning labour market integration are shaped by overarching power relations mediated by multiple axes of advantage or disadvantage. It also sought to understand how tied migrants resisted these governing technologies to fulfil their own aspirations. This study applied the theory of governmentality, and intersectionality as a heuristic device that enabled a comprehensive, multilevel analysis incorporating micro, meso and macro factors impacting the labour market integration (LMI) of tied migrants in South Africa. Data collection took place between August 2020 and February 2021. The study incorporated an interpretive/ constructionist approach or emic perspective to interrogate the lived experience of tied migrants in South Africa. A total of 13 one-on-one interviews were conducted with female tied migrants. Each interview lasted one and a half hours on average. The study set about to answer the following questions: i. What governing technologies impacted the integration of accompanying spouses into the South African labour market? ii. How did accompanying spouses attempt to overcome barriers to labour market integration in the host country? iii. How did accompanying spouses fare in the labour market? Significant findings included that self-initiated (resistance) strategies that reflect agency and a push back on governing technologies by tied migrants, can facilitate integration into the South African labour market. However, these strategies are not necessarily sufficient to guarantee full labour market integration. The broad exclusionary context which is premised on ethnicised rationalities that characterise the South African labour market makes full LMI difficult to achieve, particularly in the absence of support for integration. Tied migrants in South Africa are subjected to governing technologies such as informality, temporality, precarity and immobility, which have the cumulative impact of producing less than satisfactory labour market outcomes. Despite the adverse experiences they face, tied migrants remain agile and adept at employing various strategies at various times to maximise opportunities presented within a given space in time, even as they continue to work to secure better outcomes in the future.
Open Access
Farmer strategies towards climate variability and change in Zimbabwe and Zambia
(University of the Free State, 2010) Mubaya, Chipo Plaxedes; Pelser, A.; Khundhlande, G.
𝑬𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒉 There is wide scientific consensus that concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are increasing due to human activities, causing global climate change. Climate change exerts significant pressure on the agricultural sector and economic development of Africa. Despite a growing number of country-level case studies, knowledge gaps continue to exist at the level of impact analysis. In addition, while adaptation and coping with climate variability and change have become key themes in current global climate discussions and policy initiatives, literature on adaptation in Zimbabwe and Zambia appears to be still limited. In this regard, this study addressed the following objectives: • To investigate farmer perceptions of threats from climate variability and change and how these may differ across countries; • To identify and analyse the impacts of climatic variability and change on farmer households in the two countries; and, • To identify coping and adaptation strategies to climate variability and change employed by farmers and investigate factors influencing choice of adaptation/ coping strategies across the study districts Methods used to collect data for this study are both qualitative and quantitative methods. The specific method used in the Quantitative approach is the survey. Qualitative methods used include Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA), specifically, resource mapping, historical trend lines, seasonal and daily activity calendars and matrix scoring and ranking. FGDs and indepth case studies were also used. Conclusions drawn from the findings of the study are listed below: • While farmers report changes in local climatic conditions consistent with climate change, there is a problem in assigning contribution of climate change and other factors to observed negative impacts on the agricultural and socio-economic system • While there are multiple stressors that confront farmers, climate variability and change remain the most critical and exacerbate livelihood insecurity for those farmers with higher levels of vulnerability to these stressors • There are variations in manifestations of direct and structural impacts from climate variability and change as a result of differences in types of farming systems and general economic and political contexts • Apart from its overwhelmingly negative effects, climate variability might also have a positive impact and localised benefits in the context of structural changes in communities–social organization and economic activities-under certain circumstances • Significant responses to climate variability and change involve organizing agriculture and related practices, than switching to off farm initiatives • While farmers’ selection of coping and adaptation strategies to climate variability and change and the associated outcomes may be intrinsic, this selection tends to be overwhelmingly shaped by diverse factors such as demography, access to information and assets and vulnerability levels Following the above conclusions, the study recommended that there is need to: • Strengthen the capacity of farmers and institutions for identifying and assessing climate changes through programmes to educate farmers and other relevant stakeholders on climate change and variability and their potential impacts on farmers’ livelihoods • Make a transition from designing policies that target climate change issues as a distinct entity to policies that address climate change issues as an integral component of multiple stressors that confront farmers • Design appropriate policies that buttress farming systems against climate variability and change through taking into account variations in these farming systems and other relevant factors • Make a transition from conceptualisation of climate change impacts in the policy framework as being inherently negative, to research and policy making with an openminded lens that dissects climate change and variability impacts in order to enhance alternative livelihoods for farmers • Provide support for appropriate agricultural innovations and development of new livelihood activities emerging as farmers respond to climate variability and change • Integrate sectors through interventions that target agricultural extension, meteorology, academic research and other developmental activities through civil society organisations
Open Access
The role of treatment buddies in the public-sector antiretroviral programme in the Free State Province
(University of the Free State, 2010) Hlophe, Hlengiwe Isabel; Booysen, F. Le. R.; Schneider, H.
Recent advances in antiretroviral treatments have simplified dosing regimens for people living with HIV. Yet, typical regimens still remain far more complex than treatments for other health conditions and adherence continue to concern health care providers. Adherence to antiretroviral therapy still dominates debates as one of the challenges facing HIV positive patients and the health service delivery. Thus, support for people on antiretroviral therapy becomes fundamental. It sis therefore argued that treatment buddies can be critical element in enhancing adherence and in retaining patients in care Against this background, research was undertaken to assess the role of treatment buddies in the South African public sector antiretroviral treatment programme as implemented in the Free State province. To achieve this aim certain objectives and hypothesis were identified and based on these objectives, five key outcomes for the study were identified. This study used two sources of data: (i) data collected from a longitudinal study conducted among patients enrolled in the public sector antiretroviral treatment programme (patient survey) and (ii) data from once-off individual interviews conducted with treatment buddies of patients interviewed as part of the patient survey (treatment buddy survey). Patients included in the analysis represent the sub-sample of patient respondents in the survey observed at least once in each of the four phases of the treatment career (n=160). Following the completion of the sixth and final round of the patient interviews, telephonic interviews were conducted with treatment buddies (n=55) using a semi-structured interview schedule to supplement information on treatment buddies collected in the patient survey as well as to provide insight into some findings from the patient survey data. Analyses for the purposes of this study focused on an investigation of treatment support and related outcomes over the treatment career. Various bivariate and multivariate regression analyses were performed separately for point estimates and change outcomes for each of the five main outcomes. Differences and transitions in key explanatory variables were regressed on point estimates of the main outcomes, while point estimates and lagged differences or transitions in key explanatory variables were regressed on differences and transitions in main outcomes respectively to avoid problems of endogeneity and to focus on causal dynamics of cause-and -effect. The study reveals that throughout the study, access to a treatment buddy declined over the treatment duration. As expected, health related quality of life consistently impacted on access to and transitions in access to a treatment buddy. Patients who had access to a treatment buddy had improved health-related quality of life. The treatment career phase featured as a strong predictor of access to a treatment buddy. Access to treatment buddy declined as months on treatment increased. The study reveals that similar to access to a treatment buddy, access to alternative support mechanisms declined as treatment duration increased. However, a significant decline over the treatment career phase was only observed in access to informal, individualised support such as emotional and physical caregivers. Access to more formal support and to group-based support did not exhibit a similar significant declining trend over the treatment career. The findings revealed that access to a treatment buddy was associated with perfect adherence knowledge. Moreover, the frequency of treatment buddy visits declined over the treatment career. Access to other forms of support increased the frequency of treatment buddy visits. Marital status was strongly associated with access to treatment buddy and other key outcomes. Clinical adherence varied significantly across the treatment career, increasing as treatment duration increased. The transition results indicate that patients who had been on treatment for six to twelve months and patients who had been on treatment for 18 to 30 months were less likely to transition from clinical adherence to non-adherence. This statement denotes that patients who have been on treatment for a longer period are more likely to maintain clinical adherence. Overall, the research indicates that treatment buddies represent an important form of informal adherence and psycho-social support in the early phase of the ARV treatment career, particularly among married ART clients. Access to treatment buddies declines later in the treatment career as clients‟ health-related quality of life improves. Policy makers and programme managers should develop suitable adherence support strategies for single clients as well as suitable longer-term adherence support strategies for clients facing challenges with medication adherence later in the treatment career.
Open Access
Human and social capital formation in South Africa's arid areas
(University of the Free State, 2012) Ingle, Mark Knightley; Visser, G. E.
𝑬𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒉 There has been a worldwide resurgence of academic interest in semi-arid and desert regions and South Africa has proved no exception to this trend. The lion's share of South Africa's arid interior consists of the 400000 square kilometres of the Karoo. The Karoo is divided up among four provincial administrations and is therefore very rarely treated as a coherent regional entity in its own right by the central government, whose National Spatial Development Perspective (NSDP) has accorded it marginal developmental potential. Inter-provincial co-operation has also proved to be the exception rather than the rule, and this has impacted upon the Karoo's ability to present itself as an attraction on a par with Australia's Outback, for example. Until the mid-1990s the Karoo had endured several decades of being written off as a desolate, boring wasteland fit for nothing but sheep-fanning. In the 1990s, however, several major trends converged which had the effect of completely transforming the Karoo in the 'social imaginary'. These trends were the opening up of the country to international market forces and influence, consequent upon the demise of apartheid; the international reappraisal of the value of desert regions with a concomitant surge in tourism flows; the onset and rapid adoption of mobile telephony coupled with e-mail and the internet; an international revisioning of the countryside which saw primary agriculture steadily supplanted by the trappings of rural postproductivism; and a property boom which reinvigorated rural housing markets which had been stagnant for decades. Against this backdrop, at the turn of the millennium, increasing numbers of scholars sensed the emergence of a new type of individual who seemed to have evolved with a new knowledge based economy made possible by huge advances in information technology. The one constant theme running through these identifications was the concept of 'creativity' and a high premium came to be placed on the contributions of this cohort to the knowledge economy. The social order in South Africa was profoundly shaken by the combined effect of these paradigmatic changes, arguably no segment more so than that of the white community. While several hundred thousand whites emigrated, a very much smaller number, no longer able to afford coastal properties, looked with new eyes upon the potentials of small town South Africa either as prospective incomers or as sites for investment in second homes. The socio-economic chemistry of many small towns in the Karoo experienced a complete overhaul as a result of an infusion of new blood from the conurbations. This statistically insignificant but economically 'savvy' constituency then used their networks and professional expertise to set in motion what can only be described as a renaissance of the Karoo. This thesis examines aspects of this phenomenon through a lens informed by Richard Florida's influential views concerning the rise of a 'creative class'. It describes the rejuvenation of certain towns by the infusion of new social and human capital and it has considered some of the consequences of this. In-migrants have identified a wide range of 'capitals' that have been lying dormant, rather like seeds waiting for moisture. This has seen the coming-to-market of a variety of creative offerings most especially in the tourism 'value chain'. Often assisted by skillful recourse to marketing networks and to 'lifestyle media', these incomers have wrought a seachange in the social imaginary pertaining to the Karoo. The overall positive effect of this burst of industry on these small towns is proving to be both enduring and profound.
Open Access
The privatisation of public housing in South Africa: incremental upgrading processes in Manguang
(University of the Free State, 2012) Sefika, Moeketsi Simon; Marais, J. G. L.
𝑬𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒉 The argument in this dissertation is that housing studies focus mainly on the politicaleconomy paradigms and ignore the role played by other social theories. On the one hand, conventional economic theory, mainly built on new-Liberal principles, suggests that privatisation is required to ensure that markets work better. In the housing field, privatisation is mainly seen as a way to ensure the initiation of a secondary housing market. On the other hand, Neo-Marxist views argue that privatisation leads to a range of negative impacts, such as eventual homelessness and the unaffordable nature of housing bonds. The main problem with these two political and economic viewpoints is that they are blind to other social theories and ignore, to a large degree, the historical context of housing, especially in South Africa. The debates in this study point out that the pathdependency theory (with historical methodology as a sub-approach) in housing policy discourses provides additional understanding of privatisation, especially in the South African context. In contradiction to general observation, housing processes in South Africa may be locked in their own trajectory, and they may not be similar to those in the parent colonial power such as Britain. This study identifies a policy and research gap in privatisation. It is the first attempt to assess the privatisation of housing in South Africa through empirical evidence since the introduction of the Discount Benefit Scheme two decades ago. The international literature shows that there has been an effort in both developed and developing countries to privatise rental housing stock. This move is related to the overwhelming pro-market policy developments after the Second World War. Neo-Liberal and Neo-Marxist thinkers put forward various opinions for and against the process. With South Africa having had strong economic and political ties with Britain during apartheid, the South African government also privatised the nearly 500 000 state-owned housing units. Researchers in South Africa also made postulations that were either Neo-Liberal or Neo-Marxist in assessing the future possible impact of housing privatisation, this despite the work of Turner and Tipple on the social context of housing. The dissertation tests the original argument of the political-economy continuum by interrogating the empirical evidence obtained from the suburb of Rocklands, Bloemfontein. In this environment, tenants improve the state-subsidised core houses through what Tipple terms “transformations”, which are more a response to social needs than to economic imperatives. The empirical analysis looks at the outcomes of housing privatisation relating to the physical effects on housing after transformations, the processes involved in transformations that accentuate self-dependence and resourcefulness and the capacity of tenants to borrow from the market and trade their improved assets in the market. The main findings from the empirical evidence support a key theoretical assumption that housing debates should look beyond the binary political-economic debate. The findings in the study refute the political-economic assumptions forwarded in the Neo-Liberal and Neo-Marxist theories. However, the findings in the study support Tipple’s contentions on the critical role of the social and historical context of housing. To this effect, the main findings in the study are similar to Tipple’s contentions, namely that privatisation leads to transformations that combat housing stress, that transformations produce economic multipliers in the locality, that transformations occur outside the basis of secure tenure and that income is not the most important variable in housing extensions. The study goes further and suggests the historical context of housing, whereby privatisation is a way of ensuring a foothold in urban South Africa. Such a foothold in urban South Africa is important considering the historical exclusion of black people from urban South Africa. The social context of black housing in South Africa is characterised by a long quest for urban citizenship and housing rights. These characteristics give rise to a distinct housing environment not observable in the developed countries.
Open Access
Universities in regional development: knowledge transfer in a less favoured region
(University of the Free State, 2013) Fongwa, Neba Samuel; Marais, J. G. L.; Atkinson, D.; Cloete, N.
𝑬𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒉 This dissertation is an exploratory study aimed at increasing the theoretical and empirical understanding of knowledge transfer from a university to its region. The study builds on the increased emphasis on the role of universities as 'engines' for development. By using the Faculty of Agriculture at the University of the Free State, South Africa as a case study, this study aimed to provide a nuanced understand of the factors affecting knowledge transfer between academics and stakeholders in a less favoured region. By means of the learning region concept and supported by other empirical studies, key indicators were identified from the literature and were developed for investigation. A qualitative approach was followed to collect data from academics in the Faculty of Agriculture and from relevant stakeholders by means of semi-structured interviews and a detailed review of some key policy documents. Institutional data, farmer databases and an academic survey provided quantitative data with a view to facilitating the triangulation of data and the minimising of bias. Findings from the study revealed that the process of knowledge transfer from the UFS was affected by a combination of demand and supply factors. Some of the factors affecting supply included the nature and the history of the UFS and the Faculty of Agriculture, adequate incentive structures, the level of policy alignment and the embeddedness of knowledge outputs from the faculty. Demand factors included the absorptive capacity of the region, the presence of coordinated demand systems and the nature of the networks that existed between stakeholders. This thesis argues that because of institutional lock-ins in the region - that have led to path dependency in the practice of agriculture - knowledge from the faculty has failed to realise its potential in respect of contributing to regional development. While there is evidence of networks between farmers and academics, the network forms are 'distorted' and as yet strongly embedded along historical social and racial lines. There is also limited evidence of a properly institutionalised notion of engagement with emerging farmers and thus knowledge transfer continues to be path dependent. 311 The findings have implications for the UFS, for the faculty and for the region. While the UFS has defined itself as having both a national and an international agenda, the university will consciously have to define its regional role and then have to establish structures for active engagement - not only broadly but also specifically with the agricultural sector. At the faculty level, engagement needs to be reconceptualised, with engagement moving from a philanthropic ethos to one that is part of the core function of teaching and learning. At the regional level, there is a need for the establishment of new forums in which the UFS and the different stakeholders may engage. More importantly, these initiatives will have to be built on trust, social capital and networks for collective benefits to result.
Open Access
Civic culture and local economic development in a small town
(University of the Free State, 2013) Van Rooyen, Deidré; Atkinson, Doreen
𝑬𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒉 Although several cases of successful Local Economic Development (LED) programmes and initiatives addressing poverty and inequity are present in South Africa, there are still a number of challenges to overcome. Firstly, the definition of LED varies, however the essence of LED is local partnerships for locality planning – based on economic growth. Consequently, the analysis in this thesis uses the “L-E-P” model, combining elements of “Locality”, “Economic” and “Partnerships”. This model could be an answer for LED policy and practice to make use of all these elements. Secondly, LED strategies need to go beyond merely compiling LED documents. Municipalities need to engage with communities and the private sector in prioritising and designing appropriate strategies that unlock local potential. However, in South Africa partnerships have not always been central to LED planning. Furthermore, the soft factors of co-operation – trust and social capital -, which are considered essential for effective collaboration between state and non-state actors, should be constructed. Consequently, LED practitioners need to pay greater attention to social relationships and networks, which fundamentally mould local economies. Thirdly, academic research is only starting to incorporate social resources into economic development practice. Furthermore, only a few authors have taken the concept of civic culture into consideration when analysing LED. Local civic culture relates to how local problems are defined, how solutions are found, how the local economic problems can be solved, who is involved and how the decisions are made. International civic culture literature has been contextualised to classify civic culture in South African terms. If an understanding of the civic culture of an area is acknowledged, planning and development of this area can be simplified. Beaufort West is used as an example of a typical Karoo town to illustrate how the type of civic culture a community has, can influence local economic growth. Fourthly, there is a lack of research related to the establishment, growth and development of mining towns. Although numerous international mining companies have identified the Karoo surrounding Beaufort West for uranium extraction, planning documents of the Western Cape Provincial Growth and Development Strategy (PGDS) and also in the Integrated Development plans (IDPs) of the Central Karoo District Municipality and the Beaufort West Local Municipality do not make any suggestions for the economic “roller-coaster” ride ahead. The sustainability of mining (non-renewable resource) towns is not as important as are the economic developments of and the proactive planning (in partnerships) in these towns. Fifthly, business confidence helps explain the sentiments that business owners or managers have towards current and future business conditions. Several ways of measuring business confidence are compared. Business confidence is mostly surveyed at national level. A methodology for business confidence surveys at the local level is provided. This approach has been piloted in the town of Beaufort West in the Karoo area of South Africa. There are plans for a new uranium mine near Beaufort West, and the researcher speculates on its impact on the broader local business confidence. The results of the 2007 and 2009 study in terms of the opinions of business confidence in Beaufort West are compared. There are very few comparative studies in terms of all the above-mentioned factors. Therefore, the researcher proposes that these methodologies and models should be tested in other towns. This will then determine whether the results differ in other Karoo towns and from the rest of South Africa.
Open Access
Logistical cities in peripheral areas
(University of the Free State, 2013) Pretorius, Marius Pieter; Marais, J. G. L.; Joynt, H.
𝑬𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒉 This thesis is the first study in South Africa to explore the concept of logistics cities in peripheral areas with in the context of local economic development. Although the term logistics city is used freely to denote cities in which logistics forms an important part of their economic base − as is the case in Dubai, Shangai and Zaragoza − the body of academic literature on the topic is extremely limited. The logistics city concept was formulated in Australia as an academic concept from approximately 2006 onwards. In South Africa, there is seemingly a tendency among decision makers to regard the mere existence of an airport, especially its potential transformation into an air-freight hub, as a possible local economic development initiative. The aim of this study was to evaluate Upington (as a peripheral area within the South African economy) and its ability to utilise the Upington International Airport as a local economic development initiative, specifically from the perspective of a logistics city. The study analysed the latest theoretical developments in location theory, specifically the new economic geography (NEG) and cluster theory as a basis of the logistics city. The NEG, which was developed in the 1990s in response to the changes brought about by globalisation and the strides made in technology, argues that − theoretically at least − peripheral regions could grow through the development of logistic clusters at the location of an airport. In addition, given the current capacity problems at OR Tambo International Airport, the NEG should pave the way for the development of a logistics facility at the UIA, the more so from the perspective of the logistics city concept. The study confirmed that, in spite of the theoretical opportunities presented by the NEG, the logistics city concept and the incorporation of an air-freight hub in provincial policy and strategy documents, air-freight hub development is still fundamentally dependent on market conditions and that the existence of well-developed airport infrastructure alone is not sufficient reason for transforming a regional airport in a peripheral area into a logistics facility. The study further showed that despite the increasing range of local economic development (LED) research in South Africa, academic literature focusing on the relationship between air-freight transport, logistics and LED is virtually non-existent. Moreover, the study showed that LED efforts are seriously hampered by a number of issues, such as the lack of assimilation of the logistics and air-freight industries into local economic development policy and plans, a lack of capacity at the institutional level, the lack of integrated planning between the spheres of government, the LED stakeholders, parastatals, agencies and the private sector and also the lack of clear policies on the developmental role of regional airports in South Africa. The dominance of ACSA, and the company’s own lack of a strategic focus on regional airports, has also been shown to be problematic. The study further demonstrated efficient logistics to be an important determinant of a country’s competitiveness and that South Africa may lose competiveness because both of high logistics costs and low logistics performance levels. The study also showed that there is generally a lack of accurate information and data on logistics and air freight in South Africa, particularly at the regional and the local level, which makes effective and integrated planning even more difficult.
Open Access
Experiences of disabled students at two South African universities: a capabilities approach
(University of the Free State, 2015) Mutanga, Oliver; Walker, Melanie; Lange, Lis
𝑬𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒉 Using the capabilities approach, this thesis examines how disabled students experience higher education at two South African universities: University of the Free State (UFS) and University of Venda (UniVen). Located within the equity and inclusive agenda, the study seeks to exert influence over higher education policies and practices. South Africa prioritises equity issues. It is among the few countries in the world (156 as of 2015) to have signed and ratified one of the most acclaimed conventions on disability, the 2008 Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). However, there is no legislation (in 2015) that specifically looks at disability issues in South African higher education (SAHE) and data on disabled students is thin. I argue that the capabilities approach is important in framing our understanding of disability issues in higher education. It also provides an analytical framework to measure progress towards social justice. The capabilities approach acknowledges the interplay between individual bodies and various conversion factors in the concept and construction of disabilities. This thesis advances knowledge in higher education and disability disciplines by outlining the complexities in disabled students’ lives at the two universities. This study sought to answer the following questions. 1. How do disabled students experience their studies and interact with higher education? 2. How do lecturers and Disability Unit staff understand disability and the experiences of disabled students? 3. What are the differences and similarities concerning university policies and other supporting arrangements for disabled students at the University of the Free State and University of Venda? 4. How does the capabilities approach account for the experiences of disabled students in higher education? 5. What implications can be drawn for disability policy to enhance social justice in higher education? As a result of the historical trajectories that still influence the present-day state of SAHE, two universities with different historical and cultural backgrounds were selected. UFS is a historically-advantaged urban-based white Afrikaans university. It has gone through the processes of major transformation in recent years. By contrast, UniVen is a historically-disadvantaged rural-based university. It was established under apartheid policy to serve the African black community. Officially, it reports the highest number of disabled students in SAHE. Purposive sampling was employed to recruit participants into the study. Participants included fourteen disabled students from various disability categories, four lecturers and three Disability Unit (DU) staff. Students were recruited from the DU by telephone after being provided with a list of registered disabled students. The DU staff were approached directly and recruited to the study. Lecturers were recruited through their respective Heads of Departments. An information sheet was provided to every participant; this was accompanied by a conversation with each participant before they signed the consent form. Data in this qualitative study were collected through in-depth interviews, field observations and institutional document analysis. In-depth interviews with disabled students, lecturers and the DU staff focused on their experiences with disability issues and their perceptions of the needs of disabled students. Field observations were also incorporated into the study in order to expand my understanding of the experiences of disabled students at the two universities. In order to get a comprehensive understanding of relevant issues, I spent a day with one participant at each university, in their setting from residence to the classes. I was able to determine how the students interact with their peers, what happens in classrooms and in their places of residence. Furthermore, some university policy documents (e.g. disability policies, assessment policies and residence policies) were reviewed in order to understand how the two higher education institutions (HEIs) purport to address issues and then the results of the review were juxtaposed with what was gathered from the other mentioned data collection methods. Data were analysed thematically with the help of NVivo software and five key findings emerged from the students’ data. Findings from this study highlight the complexities around the adoption of an identity as a disabled person by these students. Understanding disability within a given social and cultural context is important, as interpretations of what is disability are influenced by context. The study also found that, as a result of the current thinking around disability, some practices and non-actions in higher education perpetuate injustices towards disabled students, although their intended goals are to create opportunities for all students. Another finding from the study is that, in most cases, the challenges faced by disabled students in higher education are not the same and they respond to these challenges differently. It was further found that regardless of these challenges, disabled students have the capacity to aspire and they showed educational resilience. The last finding from the students highlights that disabled students, just like other students, know what they value in higher education. Participating students identified key valued freedoms and opportunities that are needed to access and succeed in higher education. Eleven key valued freedoms and opportunities were extrapolated, and I argue that these are needed for the formulation of socially just disability-inclusive policies. Interviews with university staff show a lack of awareness among lecturers on disability matters due to lack of training and at times this is compounded by their socio-cultural backgrounds and job expectations from their universities. On the other hand, DU staff showed an appreciation of disability matters. However, their efforts at times are compromised by arrangements within the university linked to lack of national and university policy guidelines. The thesis ends by suggesting some key points for SAHE to consider for an inclusive-disability policy framework.
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The sociology curriculum, pedagogy and capabilities formation: a case study in two South African universities
(University of the Free State, 2016) Manyonga, Bothwell; Walker, Melanie; Wilson-Strydom, Merridy; Fongwa, Sam
𝑬𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒉 The study addresses how the sociology curriculum and pedagogy interact to enhance or constrain students’ capabilities and more broadly, human development. More specifically, the research is focussed on how curriculum knowledge acquired by undergraduate sociology students contributes to enhancing their capabilities to live and to act in society. The context is one where universities are under pressure to better align the relevance of their curriculum to the needs of the labour market, with less focus on expansive aims and more emphasis on outcomes that contribute to both economic advancement and human well-being. While the South African government has invested in the expansion of higher education enrolments and programmes for academic support, there is a need to interrogate how universities enhance or constrain individual and social well-being. Sociology has been chosen as a case subject because there is a growing concern internationally and nationally about the weakening and deepening disregard of the humanities and social sciences within the academy. Based on Sociology Departments at two South African universities, the research investigates three levels: i) curriculum level to examine what sociology knowledge is selected and why, as well as what valued doings and beings are considered important; ii) pedagogy level to explore how sociology knowledge is transmitted and how (if at all) the process expands capabilities and functionings; and iii) exit level outcomes to consider what students say they have become as a result of studying sociology. The study draws on perceptions from empirical data collected through semi-structured interviews with students (11) and lecturers (11) at each university, as well as relevant documents. The findings suggest that sociology is a subject taken by diverse students across axes of race, gender and schooling backgrounds. Although the students have different bundles of ‘resources’, the development of the curriculum fails to account for these differences but largely treats them as a homogeneous group. In this conceptualisation, there is limited or no attempt to consider the personal conversion factors that shape each student’s freedom to achieve, as well as understand the choices and values that convert these freedoms into actual achievements. Regarding valued capabilities, students and lecturers value capabilities such as knowledge and critical thinking, with the students’ having emphasis on capabilities such as economic opportunities, the opportunity to provide or experience good teaching, autonomy and voice, resilience, and recognition, respect and belonging, however, there were limited opportunities for this. All capabilities intersect and are multidimensional, thus students need all of them to achieve well-being as they reinforce and support each other. Subsequently, agency rests on the platform of these capabilities. Thus, equipping graduates with more capabilities, more well-being and more agency means higher education is more just rather than less just or is cognisant of a social justice agenda. The thesis concludes by proposing a capabilities-inspired curriculum model for human well-being. The model suggests grounds for (re)thinking policy orientations to sociology curriculum developers, particularly on how the capabilities approach and the more limited human capital theory can complement each other in higher education and curriculum development.
Open Access
Exploring the lives and educational aspirations of marginalised migrant youth: a case study in Johannesburg, South Africa
(University of the Free State, 2017) Mkwananzi, Wadzanai Faith; Wilson-Strydom, Merridy; Walker, Melanie; Loots, Sonja
𝑬𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒉 As the migration phenomenon gains momentum, South Africa processes high volumes of refugee applications, particularly from neighbouring countries. One of the largest groups migrating is that of youths, in search of alternative livelihoods and opportunities in education and employment. In pursuit of these opportunities, challenges such as obtaining official documentation as well as resistance, intolerance and animosity from local residents are faced. Consequently, many unanswered questions remain on how the experiences of migrant youth influence their aspirations and desire for educational continuation or achievement. Although there are a number of studies on educational aspirations of migrant youth, most of these have focused on the Global North; there has not been an in-depth focus on individual educational aspirations of youth in the South-to-South migration context. Thus, this thesis seeks to provide additional insight into South-to-South mobility and marginalised migrant youths’ educational aspirations. Through exploring the educational aspirations and developmental opportunities available to this group of youths, I argue that the capabilities approach (CA) provides a comprehensive framework, which incorporates diverse and complex challenges of migration, cutting across and beyond social, political, cultural and economic contexts. The use of the CA in this study not only acknowledges the complex nature of migration, but also demonstrates that human mobility, in addition to being a capability on its own, is an integral part of human development. This is illustrated by an assessment of available opportunities for migrant youth to expand their choices, as well as their capacity to improve other dimensions of their lives, such as an opportunity for education. The study adopts an interpretivist paradigm, which draws on concepts that are important in understanding people’s actions and behaviours, such as agency, opportunities, and being and doing in seeking to answer the following questions: (i) what are the everyday experiences of marginalised migrant youth in Johannesburg, South Africa? (ii) What educational aspirations do the marginalised migrant youth have? (iii) Which capabilities and functionings do they value? (iv) What advocacy strategies do the participants suggest be put in place to support their educational aspirations? Data was collected using in-depth narrative interviews with 26 migrant youth who had accessed refugee services at the Central Methodist Church in Johannesburg. After preliminary open coding of individual interviews, a focus group was conducted to discuss some of the issues that emerged from individual interviews. Additional interviews were conducted with representatives from the refugee centre and Albert Street School respectively in order to gain detailed insight into migrant experiences. Two key findings emerged from this study. Firstly, resources to achieve educational aspirations for migrant youth remain constrained in all key dimensions: political, social, and economic. With these constraints, opportunities for accessing higher education also become limited. As such, these narratives on educational aspirations have also shown that a gap in the literature on marginalised migrants and education extends to other dimensions. These include issues of access, experiences within higher education institutions, as well as achievement in higher education for the few migrant youth that have opportunities to progress further in education. Secondly, aspirations are complex and multidimensional, as is the environment that shapes them. Such complexity requires an in-depth and comprehensive analysis, as a simplistic understanding may overlook the lived realities of marginalised groups. Thus, I provide a new conceptualisation of aspirations intersecting along the axes of agency and structural conversion factors. Based on this conceptualisation I present an argument for four types of aspirations, namely resigned, powerful, persistent and frustrated aspirations. This construction of aspirations provides a different way of thinking about aspirations formation in contexts of marginalisation, disadvantage and vulnerability experienced by migrant youth in the study, as well as others living in similar environments. Furthermore, the thesis presents the intersectionality of conversion factors in the migrant youths’ lives and how this intersectionality influences their educational aspirations.
Open Access
South African housing policy and housing policy research: theoretical discourse in the post-apartheid era
(University of the Free State, 2017) Venter, Anita; Marais, Lochner
𝑬𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒉 The aim of this thesis is to provide an integrated epistemological analysis of the theoretical discourse on housing policy and research implementation relevant to the South African context. Chapter 1 comprises the rationale for the thesis by emphasising that there is as yet no comprehensive study that encapsulates the theoretical foundations of housing policy research in South Africa. It is further highlighted that three decades of contemporary theoretical developments on housing in Western Europe have largely gone unnoticed in the South African scholarly environment. By drawing on the traditions of post-structuralism, social constructionism and critical discourse analysis, methodological ways of addressing inadequate theory development on housing in post-apartheid South Africa are further explored. Chapter 2 is devoted to an overview of housing theory and housing discourses in developing countries. The theoretical concepts and approaches discussed in Chapter 2 are related to the Marxist and the neo-Marxist schools of thought, neo-liberalism, development theories and to the notion of political economy. Chapter 3 is an assessment of housing theory and discourse in Western Europe and contains an extensive overview of the development of theory in the European context. Specific focus falls on welfare state theoretical developments, while the value of comparative and historical methodologies in interpreting welfare state theories is expounded. In Chapter 4, the historical development of housing policies both in Western Europe and in developing countries is outlined. Conceptual themes in this chapter centre on the dualities between formal and informal housing discourses, the application of welfare state intervention in providing housing for the poor and for the low-wage working class, and mention is made of the contested, multidimensional ideologies that feature in ownership discourses. Chapter 5 deals with the relevance of the different theoretical frameworks in re-interpreting the historical narrative and the ideological underpinnings of housing policy development in South Africa. The presence of welfare state theories within the current South African housing policy is illuminated, thereby paving the way for expansion on these theories in future scholarly discourses on housing in the post-apartheid era. In Chapter 6, social constructivism is employed to indicate how theoretical concepts on housing policy may be applied in implementation projects at grass-roots level. The case studies endeavour to provide a platform conducive to the evolvement of housing policies that will be more socially and culturally responsive than were those prior to the completion of this thesis. The outputs and contribution of this thesis aim to encourage dialogues about the value of theory, research and implementation. The thesis has generated both academic and creative outputs. The academic outputs include two accredited publications and the creative outputs comprise buildings either completed or in the process of completion. The thesis highlights the relevance of evolving indigenous cultural practices in spawning housing policy discourses for the future. By specifically embracing principles of informality, both self-help building technologies and skills transfer have significant contributions to make as regards addressing housing shortages in the country in geographical locations like the Free State Province and other rural areas.
Open Access
Self-help housing in South Africa: paradigms, policy and practice
(University of the Free State, 2018) Ntema, Lejone John; Marais, J. G. L.
𝑬𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒉 This thesis entitled Self-help housing in South Africa: paradigms, policy and practice was conducted as the first thorough evaluation of self-help housing policy in South Africa. Selfhelp housing policy and practice in both South Africa and globally are evaluated by means of Turner’s concept of dweller control. The thesis starts off by analysing the origin and development of low-income housing policies in developing countries, with specific reference to self-help housing policy. It is pointed out that the discussion on the influence of Turner’s theory and the role of the World Bank are central to the analysis of the origin and development of self-help housing policy in developing countries. Turner’s theory played a crucial role in the acceptance of self-help housing as an alternative housing-delivery mechanism in the 1960s, while the World Bank provided the necessary funding for its implementation through site-and-services schemes by governments in developing countries in the early 1970s. Despite self-help housing commonly being associated with neo-liberal policy trends, the thesis shows that self-help is practised in both capitalist and socialist countries. The international theoretical background on self-help housing is followed by an assessment of the development and application of various low-income housing policies in post-apartheid South Africa, with specific reference to self-help housing. South African policy on self-help is officially called the People’s Housing Process (PHP) and is implemented through self-help groups called housing support centres. It has been found that though Turner’s ideas and principles on self-help housing are entrenched in PHP policy, in practice this policy, to a large extent, neither conforms to Turner’s ideas particularly those on dweller control nor to certain principles stipulated in the policy. Thus, a technocratic rather than a people-centred approach (envisaged in policy documents) dominates the PHP programmes in South Africa. The levels of the influence exerted by local people in project design, project implementation and housing design remain low, and the housing outcomes do not differ much from the conventional project subsidy approach. This leads the author to conclude that self-help housing in South Africa is, in effect, dominated by the state. However, despite state control of the housing process, both the available South African literature on self-help housing and the empirical findings seem to be in agreement that the houses in PHP projects are generally much bigger than those provided by means of the conventional contractor-driven mechanism. The comparison between the laissez-faire self-help project and the aided self-help project using a contractor-driven approach confirms that better housing outcomes have resulted from the laissez-faire self-help example (larger houses, more extension activity). Against this background, the thesis proposes that government officials should become facilitators rather than dominant role players in the application of self-help housing, programmes on consumer education should be emphasised and used as means to enhance community participation and empowerment, the emphasis on sweat equity in the self-help mechanism should be reconsidered, the self-help mechanism inherently needs to accept a certain degree of informality, government should ensure accountability and oversight without necessarily controlling state-funded self-help housing projects, and, the emphasis in self-help should be on embracing housing as a process rather than as a one-off activity.

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