SARiHE Project Overview Final Colloquium 29th May 2019, - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

So Southe uthern rn Afric frican an Rur urality ality in in Highe igher r Educ ducatio tion n SARiHE Project Overview Final Colloquium 29th May 2019, Johannesburg Sue Timmis, Patricia Muhuro, Kibbie Naidoo

So Southe uthern rn Afric frican an Rur urality ality in in Highe igher r Educ ducatio tion n PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS : CO-INVESTIGATORS : GINA WISKER University of Brighton EMMANUEL MGQWASHU SUE TIMMIS KIBBIE NAIDOO Rhodes University University of Bristol University of Johannesburg PATRICIA MUHURO THEA DE WET University of Fort Hare University of Johannesburg SHEILA TRAHAR University of Bristol BRENDA LEIBOWITZ (2016 - April 2018) LISA LUCAS University of Johannesburg University of Bristol

The SARiHE project has investigated how students negotiate the transtion from school and home in rural contexts to ‘university learning’ A focus on ived spaces, practices, artefacts 1. How learning in rural contexts helped or inhibited students’ negotiation of the transition into and through higher education 2. Challenges for students from rural areas facing HE curricula which remain imbued with colonialism 3. How can we develop inclusive and living curricula, building on the experiences of all students, including those from rural contexts?

So Southe uthern rn Afric frican an Rur urality ality in in Highe igher r Educ ducatio tion n Identity and agency in figured worlds (Holland et al, 1998) • Social encounters in which the positions of those taking part matter, they are socially and culturally organised and located in particular times and places. • Historical phenomena -shaped by activities of participants • How we act when encountering and participating in new ‘figured worlds’ gives rise to and shapes our identities • Positional identities - ‘day-to- day and on the ground relations of power, deference and entitlement, social affiliation and distance – with the social-interactional, social-relational structures of the lived world’ (p 127). • Figurative identities - ‘the stories, acts and characters that make the Allows us to explore the influences world a cultural world’ (p 127). of the rural figured worlds upon • Improvisation – the interplay of habitus and agency the new worlds of higher education and the improvisations students make

Dec Decolo lonisa nisatio tion v n ver ersus dec sus decolo loniality niality • Decoloniality - dealing decisively with colonial vestiges in knowledge generation traditions and knowledge itself, psychological enslavement and a sense of unworthiness engineered for many centuries • Decolonisation – ‘a complexly over the colonised through mutating entity’ (Mbembe, 2016, colonial institutions such as 32) schools and universities • Mgqwashu (2016) - grand narratives, (Ndlovu-Gatsheni, 2014). including that of “decolonisation” tend to silence “local narratives”.

So Southe uthern rn Afric frican an Rur urality ality in in Highe igher r Educ ducatio tion n Non-hegemonizing Approaches to Knowledge (Leibowitz, 2017) • ‘ Centring Knowledge in Relation to Place ’ – centre the knowledge in the curriculum by focusing that which is most familiar or relevant to people, ..in the case of Africans, African Knowledge’. • ‘ An Ecology of Knowledges ’ - students would be required to become ‘multi-lingual then multi-epistemic’ so that ‘students would need to become proficient in a range of knowledges, and have an appreciation of their purposes and relevance. • ‘ Decolonising Knowledge from the Outside ’ – students from different social locations come together to learn – with some uncomfortable learning experiences.

Southern African Rurality in Higher Education INSTITUTIONAL CONTEXT Cooper (2015) classification of HEI in South Africa • University of Johannesburg Urban comprehensive Balanced focus on research, teaching and technology • University of Fort Hare Rural, previously disadvantaged Teaching-led • Rhodes University Only research – intensive university in a rural area, Historically white university, previously advantaged

So Southe uthern rn Afric frican an Rur urality ality in in Highe igher r Educ ducatio tion n Methodology • Data generation with co- researchers • ‘Co-researcher model of • Longitudinal (April to Dec 2017) at 3 sites (UJ, Rhodes and Fort Hare) participation’ in a • Approx 24 students from STEM and ‘community of Humanities at each site (72 in total) inquiry’ (Timmis & Williams, • Seven data generation sessions (plus external settings) 2013) • All co-researchers given an ipad – • Participatory research – is a producing multi-modal artefacts (Evernote) ‘decolonising • 2 day collaborative data analysis mode’ (Bozalek, 2011), as it and publishing initiative avoids a deficit positioning • Data generation with Academics of students. and Senior Managers • Narrative Inquiry principles • Unit of analysis - practices

Southern African Rurality in Higher Education Methodological Reflections on using participatory methodology in the SARiHE Project

Sampling strategy

Southern African Rurality in Higher Education ATTRIBUTES OF PARTICIPATORY METHODOLOGY Multimodal Methods

Southern African Rurality in Higher Education DATA COLLECTION • Selection of co-researchers – snowball sampling using the matrix (first presentation) • Purposive sampling – first generation into university, second year in the university, STEM and Humanities disciplines • Questionnaire to determine suitability

So Southe uthern rn Afric frican an Rur urality ality in in Highe igher r Ed Education Welcoming Event Sharing (rules of Learning and Values documentaries engagement, rurality is) Learning in rural Learning at areas P1 (iPads), university form SARiHE research community Learning in rural areas p2 (critical Transition to higher incident) (collection education of artifacts)

Southern African Rurality in Higher Education DEALING WITH CHALLENGES EXPEREINCED • Different institutional contexts (constraint and enabling) • Expertise of co-investigators • Gaining entry and differing expectations • Use of iPads during the initial data gathering • Developing rapport and handling ethics • Dedicating time

Southern African Rurality in Higher Education LESSONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH IN SIMILAR CONTEXTS • Rural students are not homogenous, neither are university contexts - need to adapt • Use of a uniform data gathering guide offset some contextual challenges – but brings up others • Multimodal research is ideal to offset language challenges • Longitudinal data collection is ideal in enabling rapport and trust

So Southe uthern rn Afric frican an Rur urality ality in in Highe igher r Educ ducatio tion n The SARiHE project: Key Findings

So Southe uthern rn Afric frican an Rur urality ality in in Highe igher r Educ ducatio tion n Strengths and opportunities from rural life • Responsibility for areas of work within the family and community. • Living in resource-constrained environments helps to manage resource constraints in university life. • Strong support from some members of the community such as family members, principals, teachers and siblings. • Tasks and practices typical of rural life, such as cattle herding, may provide opportunities to acquire skills that can be carried over into schooling or university. • More communal and group-oriented approaches encourage academic success at school and at university (but sometimes conflict with university ethos - a challenge as well as a strength).

So Southe uthern rn Afric frican an Rur urality ality in in Highe igher r Educ ducatio tion n Negotiating the transition to university • Perception by rural students that they need to ‘adapt’, ‘adjust’ or ‘fit it’, and for many, the transition from rural areas to HE is challenging: • ‘...it is challenging for me personally because I felt like I was not accommodated as you know, a child from the rural areas, but at the same time university is university, life must go on, you must just try to find a way to fit in.’ (discussion group, R.U., 25 March 2017, F.) • ‘You have to change and the curriculum just stays the same.’ (discussion group, R.U., 2 May 2017, F). • Other co-researchers actively resist adaptation: ‘Adapting to the changes means changing my lifestyle - that is close to impossible. There is a Xhosa saying that goes "ungamkhupha umntu ezilalini kodwa awunakuzikhupha iilali emntwini". This means that even though I'm no longer in the rurals, the values I got there can never be erased. The education system here purposely or otherwise favours those who grew up in such privileged lifestyles and that is of great disadvantage to rural students…’ (Google Docs, R.U., April 2018, F.)