University campuses are spaces not only for self-reflection and critique but also where asymmetrical power relations create experiences of exclusion and marginalisation for many students. Within the complexity of such spaces, transformative opportunities are opened up for student agency and agentic actions. This qualitative article uses a…

Background: Digital storytelling (DST) has been embraced in classrooms around the world as a way to unpack issues of identity and positionality which are critical for any pedagogy concerned with social justice. However, adopting this process-orientated practice into higher education raises ethical concerns especially in relation to the normative…

This study set out to explore how Black immigrant academics (BIAs) reconstruct their identities within academe. Utilising the research methodology of narrative inquiry, this article explores how BIAs came to see themselves across those communities, which were of primary importance to them in the reformation of their identities. Through the…

Gachago and Sykes highlight important and interesting ethical questions raised by the introduction of digital storytelling into the higher education classroom. Against the background of pre-service teacher education at a South African university, Gachago and Sykes reflect on a series of "snapshots" or anecdotes that highlight the tension…

Recognition of prior learning (RPL) is based on the principle that valuable learning, worthy of recognition, takes place outside formal education. In the context of higher education, legislation provides an enabling framework for the implementation of RPL. However, RPL will only gain its rightful position if it can ensure the RPL candidates'…

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic pushed South African historically disadvantaged institutions, that had not yet reached advanced levels of technology use in teaching and learning, to find immediate solutions to salvage the disrupted academic year. Interactions with students, which had predominantly been face-to-face, shifted to various online…

Data suggest that having a positive, internalized racial identity is related to healthy outcomes. Although some scholars have highlighted the role of education in providing a context to develop such an identity, there is a dearth of research in this area. This study analyzed racial life narrative interviews with 15 Black South Africans to explore…

In this performative text a narrative arts-based approach is used to explore the connections between educator identity and the current issues arising in the broader South African higher education landscape. Written as a fictional narrative it is an exploration of some of my experiences at the University of the Free State between 2014 and 2016. The…

Going beyond the static, dangerous version of a single story about who an African child inmate is, is an ethical responsibility -- especially when we consider the structural and material forces that are tangled in this evil deed. Drawing on a sociological framing of self and Foucault's theory of ethics, we take a narrative inquiry stance to…

Purpose: This research is providing social workers with a deeper insight into the process of empowering people from disadvantaged communities with leadership abilities by applying a narrative approach in group work and to develop members' individual potential within their social construction of leaders and leadership. Method: This research was…

Many challenges exist to conducting participatory research and consultation with young people, especially with those considered vulnerable or at risk. Beyond respecting the safety and wellbeing of young research participants, researchers must be aware of barriers to youth engagement and be attuned to the many forms of youth resistance. As young…

Teaching statistics meaningfully at school level requires that mathematics teachers conduct classroom discussions in ways that give statistical meaning to mathematical concepts and enable learners to develop integrated statistical thinking. Key to statistical discourse are narratives about variation within and between distributions of measurements…

Since 1995, the National Department of Education has developed a number of policies to give effect to the proposed transformation outlined in White Paper 1 (Notice 196 of 1995) and in subsequent legislation. A range of Acts and policies were introduced, many of them dealing with how religion should be dealt with in schools and it culminated in the…

Employing empathetic-reflective-dialogical restorying as a teaching-learning strategy, pre-service teachers situated in two different geographical contexts, namely, South Africa and Norway, engaged in self-dialogue, self-narrative and in a Community in Conversation. Using Adobe Connect, together, they participated in a Community in Dialogue. By…

There is a gap in research on access to universities in South Africa. The research that exists focuses on quantitative methodologies, although some qualitative studies are now emerging. These research methodologies, although necessary and substantial for the development of equity measures and policies, might be less successful in their impact on…