Research on student support in the global North indicates possible benefits of life coaching interventions in improving students' persistence and well-being. There is emerging research on life coaching interventions and their potential benefits in the South African higher education context, but empirical evidence is scarce. We report results from…

In response to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, the President of South Africa declared a national lockdown that commenced on 27 March 2020. This posed numerous challenges to the higher education sector, one of which was the preparation of students forced to stay at home to be able to study remotely under unique and often unfavourable…

This article examines the University Education Induction Programme (UEIP), an academic development programme, delivered at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The authors, who developed and now facilitate the UEIP, deliver the programme to early career academics and senior academics as per a senate-mandated requirement. Drawing on…

In recent years there have been calls both for building the knowledge base of academic development (AD) and for systematic induction of newcomers to the field if AD is to advance as a professional and an academic field. Despite the importance and complexity of AD, induction of novice academic developers remains mostly informal and predominantly…

The exponential growth of higher education enrolment in South Africa has resulted in increased diversity of the student body, leading to a proliferation of factors that affect student performance and success. Various initiatives have been adopted by tertiary institutions to mitigate the negative impact these factors may have on student success,…

Evidence suggests that the lack of inclusion of disability issues in the curricula of higher education institutions may result in the perpetuation of practices that discriminate against disabled people in the broader society. In light of this claim, this article investigates whether and how disability issues are included in the teaching and…

Transformation in higher education has tended to focus on race and sex, at the expense of other forms of discrimination. This article addresses the silencing of "queer" issues in higher education. Using queer theory as a framework, and drawing on current literature, popular media reports, two personal critical incidents and a project…

In this article I outline two broad sets of changes characterising the South African higher education landscape. The first relates to, among other things, structural changes (such as mergers and incorporations), the reorganisation of teaching programmes (influenced by the mode 2 knowledge), and the introduction of performativity regimes, most…

The Management of one college at Unisa initiated a structured mentoring programme to develop researchers, among others. This article reports the views of 43 mentees of the programme one year after implementation. The research design was a survey. The items in a questionnaire were influenced by the self-efficacy theory and the constructivist views…

Transformation of South African education has had profound systemic effects. Various constraints have led to inconsistent policy implementation, which have contributed to the underpreparedness of students for higher education. Internationally, the complex transition from school to university has highlighted the need for new approaches to…

The aim of this article is to explore the relationship between the desired outcomes of the National Plan for Higher Education and the funding formula. It further wants to explore the current situation regarding specific challenges in higher education, namely increased participation, broadened social base of students and equity, as well as a…

These proceedings contain the papers of the 10th International Conference on Mobile Learning 2014, which was organised by the International Association for Development of the Information Society, in Madrid, Spain, February 28-March 2, 2014. The Mobile Learning 2014 International Conference seeks to provide a forum for the presentation and…

Reports on two studies comparing learned resourcefulness among 238 black and white South African college students. Finds that black students score higher on learned resourcefulness in both studies. Discusses possible explanations. (CFR)

These proceedings contain 68 author-prepared abstracts of presentations given at the Seventh International Conference on the First-Year Experience, a 5-day conference that focused on the foundations for improving the undergraduate experience. The majority of the one- to two-page abstracts report on specific programs undertaken by colleges or…

A study at Cape Technikon (South Africa) investigated college choice decision making by surveying 923 applicants during the application process and 314 enrollees during orientation. Results show demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of applicants and enrollees differ, applicants consider multiple institutions, alumni and friends are the…