NotesFAQContact Us
Collection
Advanced
Search Tips
Back to results
Peer reviewed Peer reviewed
Direct linkDirect link
ERIC Number: EJ1395202
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2023
Pages: 17
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0313-7155
EISSN: EISSN-1837-6290
A Student's Journey in South African Higher Education: Positioning and Repositioning within a New Space
Groenewald, Emma
Issues in Educational Research, v33 n2 p591-607 2023
In diverse university contexts, students need to constantly navigate and negotiate their social identities. Students bring their unique embedded histories and cultures to the university context and position and reposition themselves to experience a sense of belonging. These experiences contribute to student self-formation and sense of being. This study explores the positioning and repositioning of a student on a diverse university campus. The positioning theory of Harré (2006) was used as a lens to examine the intentional positioning of one student, including deliberate self-positioning, forced self-positioning, deliberate positioning of others, and forced positioning of others. The study was underpinned by both the interpretivist approach and the social constructivist paradigm. A narrative methodology was used, which involved listening to and analysing the narratives of the participant. Data were generated through reflective exercises and semi-structured interviews over a period of four years. A number of themes were used to present the data, i.e., gender positioning, language positioning, racial positioning, and leadership positioning. The findings illustrate the interconnection between agency, identity, and positionality
Western Australian Institute for Educational Research Inc. 5/202 Coode Street, Como, Western Australia 6152, Australia. e-mail: editor@iier.org.au; Web site: http://www.iier.org.au/iier.html
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: South Africa
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A