This study examines how student engagement and social relationships between teachers and students may enhance the learning experiences of students in a South African university. Two separate sets of semi-structured interviews were held with 27 university teachers and 51 students respectively. The findings revealed that that the relationships…

Following the gradual post-COVID-19 return of international student flows, it is important to examine how higher education institutions and international students are reacting to their new environment and how they relate to each other. Central to this relationship is the concept of "belonging"; what it means for international students,…

Student success and the perceptions of success are growing areas of research. At the University of the Western Cape the impact that using a learning management system in blended learning approaches had on student success and perceptions of success was unknown. The research investigated perceptions of lecturers and students of the Arts Faculty…

This article examines the experiences and perceptions of academics about student engagement and how their professional practice in a professional community enhances students' persistence and success in a university in South Africa. While previous research has widely focused on students' perception of how student engagement enhances student success…

Although game-based learning has gained significant attention in higher education globally, it is difficult to harness its engagement and interactions to improve student success. This paper argues that the use of digital games has the potential to interrupt social practices and increase engagement and interaction, thereby fostering meaningful…

Using culturally relevant frameworks, this study explored students' self-reported sense of belonging and noncognitive learning outcomes as a result of cocurricular involvement in recreational activities at a South African University. Survey responses from 1,884 students involved in various cocurricular activities suggest the positive influence…

Student engagement is a widely researched and utilized concept to enhance student experiences and outcomes. Most research on student engagement, however, focuses on curricular engagement with relatively little emphasis placed on the co-curriculum. This study utilizes Case's theory of relational engagement to analyse findings from three focus…

Traditionally, academics in higher education relied on lectures, seminars, and textbooks for face-to-face instruction. However, technology integration in education has transformed the landscape, enhancing engagement, active learning, and personalised instruction, prompting academics to rethink their teaching methods. Anchored in social…

This study reports how ethics of care principles were foregrounded in a first-year English module offered at an open distance e-learning (ODeL) university in South Africa to enhance online student engagement. Current research indicates that online student engagement predicts student success; however, there is a paucity of how ethics of care…

The objective of this article is to analyse the development and content of research in the global literature on student agency in higher education (SAHE) based on a bibliometric review of 224 articles published in the Scopus database during the period 2000-2022. VOSviewer, Excel, and Tableau software were used to analyse the texts. The review…

Students including health sciences at universities that appear to subscribe to neoliberal logic are at risk for social injustices and inequalities, anxiety, depression, academic demands and unethical activities. There has been little discussion about students' self-care and well-being in and beyond the neoliberal universities. This article…

Students, particularly those at academic risk, often experience feelings of alienation and lack a sense of belonging. This can make them reluctant to seek help. A sense of belonging and the willingness to seek help are therefore closely linked. Persistent socioeconomic disparities, inherited from apartheid, make this especially challenging for…

The transition to online learning at a time of intensive efforts to ensure that the academic project continued under the trying conditions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic placed intense pressure on both staff and students, increasing their workload. The increased workload placed students at a risk of burnout. While most burnout research…

This study explores how academics create safe spaces in university classrooms to engage in dialogue about education protest actions in South Africa. Utilising the research methodology of narrative inquiry and the theoretical framework of Pedagogy of Compassion, this paper explores how academics reflect on their responses to change and protest…

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, technology-enhanced learning and its relation to student engagement, and the necessity of good student-staff relationships for creating a successful education environment were evident. The COVID-19 pandemic forced higher education to adapt to a challenging technology-led learning environment that demanded, inter alia,…