Beyond access
Intersectional challenges for Higher Education success in South Africa
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 11495576 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Benedicte Brahic (0000-0001-9678-8928, Manchester Metropolitan University), Norman Ingram (0000-0001-7774-7549, University College Cork), Nicola Ingram (0000-0001-5274-8502, University College Cork), Aradhana Ramnund‐Mansingh (0000-0003-1995-6849, Management College of Southern Africa), Aradhana Ramnund-Mansingh (MANCOSA/University of Free State, South Africa), Kim Heyes (0000-0002-9029-545X, Manchester Metropolitan University), Mariam Seedat-Khan (University of KwaZulu-Natal), Mariam Seedat‐Khan (0000-0001-9056-2282, University of KwaZulu-Natal), Shoba Arun (0000-0003-2950-3157, University of Essex) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 40 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 454-480 |
| Publication date | 2025-05-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | International Sociology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0268-5809 • E-ISSN: 1461-7242 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/02685809251334933 |
| OpenAlex | W4410444972 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 24 |
In South Africa, children of single-headed households (70% of whom are Black) have significantly worse educational outcomes than any other demographic. While the impact of family structures has been scrutinised in pre-18 education, it remains understudied concerning access and success in Higher Education. Based on semi-structured interviews with students and alumni raised in single-headed households, this article explores the interplay of family milieu and Higher Education. Using a Bourdieusian framework, authors identify three key configurations between family and Higher Education fields (alignment, fraught (mis)alignment, and parallel fields), which have a long-lasting impact on individual educational trajectories and the fabric of South African society. Black women remain disproportionately disadvantaged in the post-apartheid university, and the family milieu as a key site of intersectional inequalities remains under-researched. This article reveals the structural impact of transgenerational social reproduction in post-colonial societies and argues for a policy shift away from discourses of individual resilience
Economic growth · Economics · Intersectionality · Political science · Sociology · Education Systems and Policy · Gender Studies · Higher Education Governance and Development · Higher Education Learning Practices
Hybrid Habitus
Decolonising Universities in South Africa
Higher Education, Social Class and Social Mobility
Pierre Bourdieu
I Cannot Fall Pregnant!”
From People's Education to Neo-Liberalism in South Africa
Qualitative inquiry and research design
Post-1994 South African Education
The unforgiving work environment of black African women domestic workers in a post-apartheid South Africa
The Chameleon Habitus
Race as Common Sense
Talking the Talk of Social Mobility
Symbolic Power
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |