tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/student-access-9639/articlesStudent access – The Conversation2021-07-27T19:54:05Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1644922021-07-27T19:54:05Z2021-07-27T19:54:05ZWe can put city and country people on more equal footing at uni — the pandemic has shown us how<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/412838/original/file-20210723-15-1wdxuhv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6016%2C4007&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/woman-working-on-laptop-lies-next-1694985559">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>University study is out of reach for many people in regional Australia. Most of our universities are based in a handful of capital cities. The result is <a href="https://www.ncsehe.edu.au/publications/ncsehe-focus-successful-outcomes-for-regional-and-remote-students-in-australian-higher-education/">persistent educational inequity</a> between our capital cities and regions. </p>
<p>The COVID-19 pandemic has forced universities to move their activities online. This shift has created <a href="https://theconversation.com/stressed-out-dropping-out-covid-has-taken-its-toll-on-uni-students-152004">challenges for students</a>, but has also temporarily erased the longstanding disparity in university access between cities and regions. <a href="https://theconversation.com/regional-australia-is-crying-out-for-equitable-access-to-broadband-69711">Internet connections permitting</a>, regional students have been able to participate on equal footing with their city colleagues.</p>
<p>As universities look to return to campus, the temptation is for city campuses to abandon the video link and rush back to business as usual. Yet this misses a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to tackle longstanding inequities for regional students. The innovations in online delivery forced on universities by the pandemic now point to ways to permanently improve regional students’ access and experience of tertiary education. </p>
<p>Regional people – the <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/population/regional-population/latest-release">32% of Australians living outside a capital city</a> – are a recognised <a href="https://www.ncsehe.edu.au/practice/regional-and-remote-students">equity group</a> in higher education. They are <a href="https://www.ncsehe.edu.au/publications/ncsehe-briefing-note-equity-student-participation-australian-higher-education-2014-2019">less likely to attend university</a> than their metropolitan counterparts – only one in five Australian university students is from a regional area. And if born in a <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/websitedbs/d3310114.nsf/home/remoteness+structure">remote area</a>, they are only <a href="https://www.ncsehe.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/NCSEHE-Briefing-Note_2019-20_Final.pdf">one-third as likely</a> to go to university as those born in a major city.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-research-shows-there-is-still-a-long-way-to-go-in-providing-equality-in-education-80136">New research shows there is still a long way to go in providing equality in education</a>
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<h2>What obstacles do regional students face?</h2>
<p>The educational divide is the result of the multiple <a href="https://www.ncsehe.edu.au/publications/ncsehe-focus-successful-outcomes-for-regional-and-remote-students-in-australian-higher-education/">barriers to university access</a> that regional students face. Many of their <a href="https://www.gie.unsw.edu.au/research/rural-remote-and-regional-students">disadvantages</a> relate to the economic, social and cultural costs of <a href="https://www.ncsehe.edu.au/publications/regional-student-participation-and-migration-analysis-of-factors-influencing-regional-student-participation-and-internal-migration-in-australian-higher-education/">moving away from home to study</a>, particularly to a large and distant city. </p>
<p>Students face a raft of changes at once: they must leave family and community behind and fend for themselves in unfamiliar environments. Families must find money for housing and other costs. For “mature age” students who already have families and local commitments, moving away to study is often simply impossible.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/four-barriers-to-higher-education-regional-students-face-and-how-to-overcome-them-49138">Four barriers to higher education regional students face – and how to overcome them</a>
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<p><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00343404.2021.1899156?journalCode=cres20">Regional university campuses</a> play an important role supporting equitable access to education. These campuses can offer great face-to-face study experiences, but many are small and have limited course options. </p>
<p>And across the width and breadth of Australia, we have few regional campuses. Most regional Australians do not live near a campus. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/412784/original/file-20210723-27-1osnpmy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="map of Australia showing locations of university main campuses and other campuses" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/412784/original/file-20210723-27-1osnpmy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/412784/original/file-20210723-27-1osnpmy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=541&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412784/original/file-20210723-27-1osnpmy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=541&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412784/original/file-20210723-27-1osnpmy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=541&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412784/original/file-20210723-27-1osnpmy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=679&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412784/original/file-20210723-27-1osnpmy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=679&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412784/original/file-20210723-27-1osnpmy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=679&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.universitiesaustralia.edu.au/policy-submissions/teaching-learning-funding/university-campus-map/">Universities Australia</a></span>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-regional-universities-and-communities-need-targeted-help-to-ride-out-the-coronavirus-storm-143355">Why regional universities and communities need targeted help to ride out the coronavirus storm</a>
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<p>Online study is often mooted as an alternative, but it often has <a href="https://www.ncsehe.edu.au/publications/online-learning-australian-higher-education">poorer outcomes than on-campus study</a>. Internet connectivity in regional areas can be <a href="https://theconversation.com/will-australias-digital-divide-fast-for-the-city-slow-in-the-country-ever-be-bridged-60635">a problem</a>, too. And online study can be isolating; new students in particular often need interaction and support to succeed.</p>
<p>To reduce these systemic inequities, we need to do regional education differently. </p>
<h2>We’ve had a glimpse of the solutions</h2>
<p>In response to the pandemic, many universities have moved coursework and community engagement activities fully online. Lectures, tutorials, seminars, workshops and even graduations have gone on-screen. While not the same as face-to-face interaction, these online engagements have had the unexpected benefit of opening access for those who previously couldn’t participate at all. </p>
<p>Universities have learned to use video conferencing and online platforms in new ways to maximise interactivity for students at a distance. In some cases “hybrid” activities mix face-to-face and digital participation all at once: some participants gather in the room and others join from the screen. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/digital-learning-is-real-world-learning-thats-why-blended-on-campus-and-online-study-is-best-163002">Digital learning is real-world learning. That's why blended on-campus and online study is best</a>
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<p>When done well, with good technology and good manners, hybrid interactions are fluid and the hierarchy between “here” and “there” disappears. These hybrid activities suggest a new way to approach the challenge of providing university education across distance.</p>
<p>For the first time, regional students and communities have had access to activities and resources previously available only on capital city campuses. So long as internet connections are reliable, it no longer matters if the student is five kilometres from the city centre or 500. </p>
<p>Now, with universities planning to move back to campuses, we find ourselves at a vital crossroad. To bring campuses back to life, students are being urged back into classrooms. Video links disappear. Expectations of a physical presence on city campuses return. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/where-are-the-most-disadvantaged-parts-of-australia-new-research-shows-its-not-just-income-that-matters-132428">Where are the most disadvantaged parts of Australia? New research shows it's not just income that matters</a>
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<h2>A once-in-a-lifetime shot at equitable education</h2>
<p>For regional students, this “return to campus” means we risk reverting to inequity as usual. Policymakers and universities must not miss this window of opportunity to reduce longstanding inequities for regional students. We have a chance to retool our approach to make the <a href="https://www.ncsehe.edu.au/publications/student-equity-2030">future of higher education an equitable one</a>.</p>
<p>On a vast lightly populated continent like Australia, there will never be a university campus near every town. Yet university education can be hybrid, multi-sited and inclusive. There can be local places for students to gather and interact, and hybrid classrooms where students can join their preferred course without moving house. </p>
<p>A few towns already host spaces where regional students can enjoy in-person interactions with other students and academics. These also provide free work spaces and fast internet speeds – which students might not have at home. Regional university campuses, <a href="https://www.cuc.edu.au/">country university centres</a>, <a href="https://www.guc.edu.au/study-hubs-network-unites-to-deliver-university-to-regional-australia">regional study hubs</a> and even online centres and libraries can provide the infrastructure for a hybrid and multi-sited university presence that includes regional students on equal footing. </p>
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<img alt="Frustrated looking man sits at laptop next to window" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/412839/original/file-20210723-15-1wrovtm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/412839/original/file-20210723-15-1wrovtm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412839/original/file-20210723-15-1wrovtm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412839/original/file-20210723-15-1wrovtm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412839/original/file-20210723-15-1wrovtm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412839/original/file-20210723-15-1wrovtm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412839/original/file-20210723-15-1wrovtm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Low-speed and unreliable internet connections frustrate many people trying to study online in regional Australia.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/man-hoodie-sitting-behind-laptop-next-1713414793">Shutterstock</a></span>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/will-australias-digital-divide-fast-for-the-city-slow-in-the-country-ever-be-bridged-60635">Will Australia's digital divide – fast for the city, slow in the country – ever be bridged?</a>
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<p>However, effective hybrid classrooms require buy-in and participation from all sites – including city campuses. There has to be a commitment to investing resources in <a href="https://theconversation.com/digital-learning-is-real-world-learning-thats-why-blended-on-campus-and-online-study-is-best-163002">excellent, interactive digital learning</a>. Local infrastructure and in-person academic support in regional towns need to be strengthened too.</p>
<p>As universities navigate the current <a href="https://theconversation.com/big-spending-recovery-budget-leaves-universities-out-in-the-cold-160439">landscape of scarcity and uncertainty</a>, there is a real risk regional students will drop off the radar. Before rushing back to business as usual, let’s consider the alternative: equitable access to education, no matter where you live.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/164492/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Robyn Eversole does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>People living outside our big cities face many obstacles to going to university, but the innovations during lockdowns have opened a door to permanently improving their access and experience of study.Robyn Eversole, Professor and Director, RegionxLink, Centre for Social Impact, Swinburne University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1474472020-11-10T01:53:02Z2020-11-10T01:53:02ZOpen access to higher education is about much more than axing ATARs<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/367869/original/file-20201105-14-1hxj0km.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=27%2C27%2C5979%2C3962&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/group-young-attractive-smiling-students-dressed-276679442">George Rudy/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The importance of higher education for the growth and development of society is generally accepted. But openness and access to education for all is essential to maximise its benefits. Leaders in higher education must be ready to examine what it will take to achieve this.</p>
<p>What do we mean by open access? Higher education should provide access for as many people as possible to reach their full potential as individuals. It is a <a href="https://www.sdgfund.org/goal-4-quality-education">priority</a> in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals because inequality is emerging as a key threat to societal development.</p>
<p>Openness in education depends on the democratisation of societies and, with it, the democratisation of information and knowledge. Nobel Prize-winning Indian economist <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-new-yorker-interview/amartya-sens-hopes-and-fears-for-indian-democracy">Amartya Sen</a> described development as freedom. That is, development that enhances meaningful and quality living.</p>
<p>In this context, openness broadly refers to flexible, fair, welcoming and unprejudiced access to higher education. Openness of access requires adherence to basic purpose values – the promotion of self-regulated life-long learning, self-determination and personal agency. Enabling citizens to realise these aspirations contributes to strengthening our democracy.</p>
<h2>So what will it take?</h2>
<p>Changes in mindset will be non-negotiable for open access. Removing barriers, challenging assumptions and finding innovative means to ensure access and support are important starting points.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.torrens.edu.au/about">Torrens University and Think Education</a>, like other institutions such as <a href="https://www.anu.edu.au/news/all-news/anu-announces-major-changes-to-student-admissions-for-2020">ANU</a> and <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/no-atar-required-swinburne-dumps-ranking-system-for-dozens-of-degrees-20200615-p552s5.html">Swinburne</a>, recently <a href="https://www.torrens.edu.au/blog/news/an-important-decision-about-how-we-will-approach-the-atar">announced</a> the Australian Tertiary Admissions Rank (ATAR) will no longer be the only thing that determines students’ entry into university. We now have alternative entry pathways. Systematic support and monitoring to ensure student success will be critical.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/students-are-more-than-a-number-why-a-learner-profile-makes-more-sense-than-the-atar-143539">Students are more than a number: why a learner profile makes more sense than the ATAR</a>
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<p>Higher education openness should also be understood in terms of the choice and flexibility it allows individuals. Service delivery needs to respond to personal circumstances and learning and support needs. It enables people to choose between different types or modes of access, geographical locations, synchronous (learning with others at same time) or asynchronous (learning individually in one’s own time) activity – in timeframes that suit their circumstances.</p>
<p>This is why online or hybrid learning is essential. At Torrens University, students can choose face-to-face or online study – or both – to undertake their studies. </p>
<p>Importantly, online offerings must never compromise on quality. Students studying remotely must not be worse off than students learning face-to-face.</p>
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<img alt="Student talking as he studies online" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/367871/original/file-20201106-20-18de42t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/367871/original/file-20201106-20-18de42t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=408&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367871/original/file-20201106-20-18de42t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=408&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367871/original/file-20201106-20-18de42t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=408&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367871/original/file-20201106-20-18de42t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=513&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367871/original/file-20201106-20-18de42t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=513&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367871/original/file-20201106-20-18de42t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=513&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Students who study online must not be disadvantaged compared to those learning face-to-face.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/happy-male-student-online-teacher-wear-1526125214">insta_photos/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<h2>Offering choice through innovation</h2>
<p>To help secondary students consider their options, higher education providers pulled together a series of <a href="https://www.torrens.edu.au/blog/news/first-ever-trans-tasman-higher-education-virtual-expo">virtual expos</a> this year. Technology enabled these expos to reach almost 20,000 students across Australia and New Zealand. These expos showed how the higher education sectors in Australia and New Zealand can adapt, innovate and collaborate to ensure no one lacks choices.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-learning-economy-challenges-unis-to-be-part-of-reshaping-lifelong-education-144800">New learning economy challenges unis to be part of reshaping lifelong education</a>
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<p>It is important to understand that the ideas of openness and inclusive learning environments do not refer to having no norms or boundaries. Openness or open access to higher education depends on the values, ideology and practices of each institution. Equally important are regulatory and societal systems that provide the freedoms and incentives for institutions to develop complementary approaches and capacity. </p>
<p>In South Africa, for example, the higher education and school systems were transformed to open opportunities for all. Policies to increase participation among disadvantaged communities included financial and academic support throughout the education journey. </p>
<p>A set of enabling values and mechanisms will be critical. This means putting in place ideology that gives people the right and the means to participate. It involves creating an ethos that ensures every person is welcome in the education system.</p>
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<img alt="Students in a lecture" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/367875/original/file-20201106-17-9bn5dh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/367875/original/file-20201106-17-9bn5dh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367875/original/file-20201106-17-9bn5dh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367875/original/file-20201106-17-9bn5dh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367875/original/file-20201106-17-9bn5dh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367875/original/file-20201106-17-9bn5dh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367875/original/file-20201106-17-9bn5dh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">A deliberate process of transformation opened up formerly exclusive institutions in South Africa.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/johannesburg-south-africa-april-17-2012-1268989687">Sunshine Seeds/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>A full spectrum of support services will be just as important. But why? And what will they be? </p>
<p>Well, while you may open up education for all, remote locations as well as lack of resources in secondary schools could be barriers. So you need arrangements in place to ensure access. Adjustments to entrance requirements and financial support might also be needed to deliver on the promise of education for all. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/poorer-nsw-students-study-subjects-less-likely-to-get-them-into-uni-127985">Poorer NSW students study subjects less likely to get them into uni</a>
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<h2>Time to come down from the ivory tower</h2>
<p>In higher education, the institutionalised roles of knowledge creators and education providers require them to lead and support societal development through the creation of knowledge that supports innovation. This equips citizens with the social and human capital they need to prosper.</p>
<p>This advancement of human well-being will necessitate breaking down existing barriers between higher education and society. It requires coming down from the ivory tower where a monopoly over knowledge, knowledge creation and distribution has been institutionalised. It means reviewing entrance requirements, policies and procedures that result in exclusion. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/after-coronavirus-universities-must-collaborate-with-communities-to-support-social-transition-140541">After coronavirus, universities must collaborate with communities to support social transition</a>
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<p>This is not to suggest it will be straightforward. </p>
<p>Higher education providers function in a complex and dynamic environment. Each institution will have to carefully choose the focus and scope of its activities. Institutions will have to follow up with strategies, systems and processes that open their boundaries to interaction with industry, society, decision-makers and government, while providing for individual choice and participation.</p>
<p>At Torrens University, Think Education and Media Design School, for example, we collaborate with industry from the outset as we build our curricula. This engagement continues throughout the student journey – through work-integrated learning, our “success coaches” and teaching staff who are industry leaders in their own right.</p>
<p>Openness is therefore not only a matter of access to higher education. It is an inclusive process of opening entrance opportunities, followed by a purpose-driven support environment that aims to prepare successful graduates to contribute to society.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/147447/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alwyn Louw does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Higher education should provide access for as many people as possible to fulfil their potential as individuals. Leaders in higher education must be ready to examine what it will take to achieve this.Alwyn Louw, Vice Chancellor, Torrens University AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1448032020-09-09T03:07:10Z2020-09-09T03:07:10Z5 tips on how unis can do more to design online learning that works for all students<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/356868/original/file-20200908-18-qugt2b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C222%2C7576%2C5265&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The COVID-19 pandemic has driven a rapid shift to online learning at all Australian universities. This presents unique opportunities for both educators and students, but also new challenges. Recent <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/uni-students-with-disabilities-say-remote-learning-must-improve-20200813-p55le1.html">media reports</a> suggest online learning might not be meeting the needs of all students. </p>
<p>In particular, university students with disabilities report they are struggling with online learning that lacks the features they need to fully participate. </p>
<h2>Why is this important?</h2>
<p><a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F978-3-030-43593-6_17">Pre-pandemic research</a> tells us students with disabilities are more likely to drop out of higher education than their peers without disabilities. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has identified that higher education institutions have an <a href="https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/education/higher-education-to-2030-volume-1-demography/adapting-higher-education-to-the-needs-of-disabled-students_9789264040663-9-en">obligation to improve their approach</a> to the inclusion of students with a disability. <a href="https://www.un.org/development/desa/disabilities/convention-on-the-rights-of-persons-with-disabilities/convention-on-the-rights-of-persons-with-disabilities-2.html">Article 24 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities</a> states that “without discrimination and on the basis of equal opportunity, [signatories] shall ensure an inclusive education system at all levels”.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/universities-need-to-train-lecturers-in-online-delivery-or-they-risk-students-dropping-out-133921">Universities need to train lecturers in online delivery, or they risk students dropping out</a>
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<p>Online learning can be effective in supporting students with disabilities. However, accessibility must be central to online course development. Designing online learning with this in mind can have a profound effect on student engagement, academic performance and completion rates. </p>
<h2>What are the pros and cons?</h2>
<p>Online learning has many benefits. For a start, it offers students flexibility and convenience. </p>
<p>It also enables teaching to expand beyond traditional methods. <a href="https://www.learntechlib.org/p/154164/">For instance</a>, the use of technology and multimedia can provide students with new examples, explanations, activities and means of assessment. </p>
<p>However, online learning reduces classroom interaction time. The result may be less contact between lecturers and students. </p>
<p>Students also need to learn how to navigate new technology, often with little direct support. The resulting frustration, anxiety and confusion can lead to a sense of <a href="https://www.jld.edu.au/article/view/293/269.html">learner isolation</a> and higher attrition rates.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/studying-a-uni-course-online-here-are-4-tips-to-get-yourself-tech-ready-134549">Studying a uni course online? Here are 4 tips to get yourself tech ready</a>
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<h2>How can these challenges be overcome?</h2>
<p>Our team is <a href="https://research.monash.edu/en/projects/promoting-the-inclusion-and-participation-of-individuals-with-asd">evaluating a methodology</a> to enhance the accessibility of online learning in higher and professional education. The evidence-based principles of <a href="https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1213328.pdf">Universal Design for Learning (UDL)</a> underpin this work. </p>
<p>UDL principles guide curriculum and instructional design, with the aim of removing barriers to learning so all students have an equal opportunity to succeed. </p>
<p>UDL is about designing proactively for accessibility. This approach ensures that:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>the way students navigate through the online classroom is simple and intuitive</p></li>
<li><p>content is clearly organised and readable</p></li>
<li><p>students have multiple means – including video, audio and text – of engaging with the content.</p></li>
</ul>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/videos-wont-kill-the-uni-lecture-but-they-will-improve-student-learning-and-their-marks-142282">Videos won't kill the uni lecture, but they will improve student learning and their marks</a>
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<p>We’ve found the layout of online learning environments is not always simple and intuitive. This makes it hard for students to find the information they need. In addition, we’ve found multimedia content is often inaccessible to students with disabilities. </p>
<h2>Simple steps to make learning accessible</h2>
<p>There are a lot of things you can do to improve the accessibility and inclusiveness of your online learning content. Here are our top five tips:</p>
<p><strong>1. Consider how students will navigate through your online classroom.</strong></p>
<p>Aim to make navigation simple and intuitive. Keep the structure of your online learning environment consistent from week to week. This helps save students from spending a lot of time figuring out where to access the most critical information they need to get started and engage with the content. </p>
<p>One way we do this is by breaking the semester down into weekly topics. Create a set of topic-level learning objectives for each week and a set of learning activities (video lectures, podcasts, mini-quizzes and text) aligned to each objective. </p>
<p><strong>2. Provide a video tour of your online classroom at the start of the semester.</strong></p>
<p>In the video, you can share your screen and show students how the content is displayed on the learning management system (LMS). You can walk students through sections of your online classroom to show them where they can find readings, course assignments, learning activities and other resources. At the end of your video tour, you can tell students what to do first to start engaging with the week 1 or topic 1 content. </p>
<p><strong>3. Ensure all Word documents, PowerPoint presentations and PDFs are accessible and searchable.</strong> </p>
<p>It is best to avoid uploading scanned material. Scans of Word documents, PowerPoint presentations and PDFs are not accessible or searchable. Scans also cannot be read by <a href="https://www.visionaustralia.org/information/adaptive-technology/using-technology/computer-screen-readers">screen readers</a>, which read out loud the content that is on the screen. </p>
<p>Clicking the “review” tab on <a href="https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/improve-accessibility-with-the-accessibility-checker-a16f6de0-2f39-4a2b-8bd8-5ad801426c7f">Word documents</a> and <a href="https://webaim.org/techniques/powerpoint/">PowerPoint slide decks</a> will allow you to run a quick accessibility check. This will help identify accessibility problems or areas for improvement. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.adobe.com/accessibility/products/acrobat/using-acrobat-pro-accessibility-checker.html">Adobe Acrobat Pro</a> also allows you to use an inbuilt accessibility checker. It will identify and automatically correct most accessibility problems with the click of a button. </p>
<p><strong>4. Add <a href="https://webaim.org/techniques/alttext/">alternative text (alt text)</a> to your images and graphics.</strong></p>
<p>Alternative text allows the image or graphic to be read aloud to students who are using a screen reader. You will often be prompted to do this when uploading your image and graphics to your LMS, so be sure not to skip this step. </p>
<p><strong>5. Add captions and transcriptions to your videos.</strong></p>
<p><a href="https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/6373554?hl=en">YouTube</a> easily generates captions for videos. Students can turn these captions on or off when viewing the video. </p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Q8Sq9r50gc0?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Closed captions and subtitles can easily be added to YouTube videos.</span></figcaption>
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<p><a href="https://www.rev.com/blog/resources/how-to-add-closed-captions-to-videos">Other video hosting software</a> may not generate captions automatically. Check with your institution’s technology support team to identify how to add captions to your video lectures. </p>
<p>If possible, we recommend providing <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/11/161101102535.htm">transcripts</a> for your video lectures. As well as helping students with hearing difficulties, transcripts are a great reference for your students to keep and refer back to later. Google Chrome offers <a href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/transcribe-transcribe-aud/ogokenmicnjdfhmhocanoemnddmpcjjm">extension software</a> that allows you to create transcriptions of audio files or speech. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-quarantine-could-spark-an-online-learning-boom-132180">Coronavirus quarantine could spark an online learning boom</a>
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<h2>Good design benefits all students</h2>
<p>The principles of Universal Design for Learning can help educators make small changes to the design and delivery of online courses that can benefit all students. </p>
<p>UDL offers flexibility in the ways that content is delivered and how understanding of the content is assessed. These principles can be applied to both physical and virtual environments. The result is <a href="https://journals.gmu.edu/index.php/jipe/article/view/2531">opportunities for teaching innovation</a> and creativity that make content accessible to all students.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/144803/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Erin Leif is affiliated with the Autism Behavioural Intervention Association and the Association for Science in Autism Treatment, and is a full member of the Association for Behaviour Analysis International and the Association for Behaviour Analysis Australia. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christine Grové is a fellow of the College of Educational and Developmental Psychologists, a member of the Australian Psychological Society, and the American Psychological Association, and a member of The United Nations Association of Australia Academic Network.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Laura Alfrey is affiliated with the Australian Council for Health, Physical Education and Recreation, and the Australian Association for Research in Education.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stella Laletas is a member of the Australian Psychological Society and the College of Educational and Developmental Psychologists.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Umesh Sharma receives funding from the Australian Government Department of Education, Skills and Employment; the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Commonwealth of Australia; Department of Education and Training, State Government of Victoria. </span></em></p>Online learning can create problems for students, particularly those with disabilities, unless platforms and content are designed with accessibility and inclusion in mind.Erin Leif, Senior Lecturer, Educational Psychology & Inclusive Education, Monash UniversityChristine Grové, Senior Lecturer and Educational and Developmental Psychologist, Monash UniversityLaura Alfrey, Senior Lecturer in Health and Physical Education, Monash UniversityStella Laletas, Lecturer, Educational Psychology & Inclusive Education, Monash UniversityUmesh Sharma, Professor and Academic Head, Special Education and Educational Psychology, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/607102016-06-12T17:42:33Z2016-06-12T17:42:33ZUniversities must do far more for students with disabilities<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/125940/original/image-20160609-7069-1v1xw0u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Students with disabilities face massive physical and attitudinal hurdles.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">UNAMID/Flickr</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>On paper, people with disabilities in South Africa enjoy the same rights as anyone else to an education, whether at school or university. The country’s constitution <a href="http://www.gov.za/documents/constitution/chapter-2-bill-rights#9">prohibits</a> the state from unfairly discriminating “directly or indirectly against anyone on the grounds of disability”. South Africa is also a signatory to the <a href="http://www.un.org/disabilities/convention/conventionfull.shtml">United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities</a>. This obliges the state “to take proactive measures to ensure that the rights of persons with disabilities are promoted and protected”. </p>
<p>Universities, too, are <a href="http://www.education.gov.za/Portals/0/Documents/Legislation/White%20paper/Education%20%20White%20Paper%206.pdf?ver=2008-03-05-104651-000">obliged</a> to reasonably accommodate those with disabilities. They must provide appropriate support services that are tailored to individuals’ educational needs.</p>
<p>The Higher Education Institutional Culture, Equity and Transformation Group at Rhodes University has been <a href="https://www.ru.ac.za/louisevincent/articles/disabilityweektalk.html">exploring</a> disabled students’ experiences of universities. Our work, which will be presented at three different conferences in the latter half of 2016, suggests that many universities are not meeting their obligations to these students.</p>
<h2>Universities are excluding, disabling</h2>
<p>Most universities have, to date, responded to disabled students’ presence by drawing from what’s been called the “<a href="http://www.allfie.org.uk/pages/useful%20info/medical.html">medical model</a>” of disability. This model frames disability as an individual physical problem that’s inherent in a person’s own body. It emphasises the ways in which a disabled person lacks the capacity to fit into the existing institutional framework or environment – and so needs to be accommodated, if possible. </p>
<p>The alternative is to see the ways in which environments that are geared towards those who are regarded as “normal” are themselves excluding and disabling. It’s not disabled people who lack capacity: the lack lies in how these environments operate and what assumptions those who occupy them have about what is “normal”. </p>
<p>For example, institutions might see the person who needs a ramp to access a building as someone who needs to be “accommodated”. Instead environments should be seen as disabled when they don’t, as a matter of course, provide access to all humans regardless of their physical makeup.</p>
<p>Students with disabilities find that they must accommodate themselves to institutional contexts that are, from their point of view, profoundly disabling. The onus is placed on the student to “fit in”. These students often find themselves <a href="http://reference.sabinet.co.za/webx/access/electronic_journals/academ/academ_v43_n4_a4.pdf">unable to access</a> higher education. They make up <a href="http://www.dhetnews.co.za/dhet-shares-opportunities-for-disabled-learners/">less than 1%</a> of South Africa’s total student population in post-secondary education and training. In total, 2.9 million South Africans – 7.5% of the population – <a href="http://www.timeslive.co.za/local/2014/09/09/2.9-million-south-africans-are-disabled-stats-sa">are disabled</a>.</p>
<p>When people with disabilities make it past the initial hurdles and into higher education, they’re often on the margins of university life – not just academically, but also socially.</p>
<h2>More than financial barriers</h2>
<p>The <a href="http://www.nsfas.org.za/content/">National Student Financial Aid Scheme</a> provides bursaries specifically for students with disabilities. This money is meant to cover tuition, accommodation, meals and transport costs. It also pays for materials prescribed by the institution and one or more assistive devices, like wheelchairs.</p>
<p>But simply removing financial barriers and providing access to a disabling environment is not enough.</p>
<p>Many universities still don’t even have disability units. There have been several instances of students being <a href="http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/NMMU-denies-admission-to-blind-students-20131101">turned away</a> because universities <a href="http://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/gauteng/varsity-says-no-to-disabled-student-1807528#.VTuMHSGqpBe">don’t have the facilities</a> to accommodate them. Even when access isn’t denied outright, though, students with disabilities face attitudinal and physical barriers. It’s not unreasonable to expect universities to provide sign language interpreters, ramps, assistive devices, carers and the like. Society must take its obligations to all its members seriously, regardless of their physical traits.</p>
<p>International examples prove that this can be done. In Sweden, 0.3% of the annual university budget <a href="http://disability-uganda.blogspot.co.za/2009/05/hisayo-in-accessibility-for-all-at.html">is earmarked</a> for meeting the different needs of students with disabilities. Canadian universities <a href="http://www.ubcpress.ca/books/pdf/chapters/pothier.pdf">do well</a> in supporting students with disabilities, too. Cornell University in the US has done excellent, <a href="http://disability.cornell.edu/docs/disability-commitment-report.pdf">practical work</a> around this issue.</p>
<h2>Canaries in the coal mine</h2>
<p>Students with disabilities can be seen, in many ways, as the canaries of South Africa’s higher education system. They alert society to the ways in which universities continue to preach “inclusion” without asking the important question: included into what and by whom? </p>
<p>Universities must think carefully and engage fully with what it might mean to create cultures that are friendly to disability. This might provide new insights into the multiple ways in which dominant norms and practices do violence to those whose lives and experiences they exclude, ignore, denigrate and fail to recognise as fully human, deserving of equal respect and consideration. Inclusion into unchanged cultures, physical environments and day-to-day practices does not make institutions more just. It is institutions, not students, that are disabled and disabling.</p>
<p><em>Authors’ note: Are you an academic, Master’s or Doctoral student conducting research related to the experiences of students with disabilities in South African universities? If so, we would like to invite you to contribute a chapter to a new book. For more information or to send a concept note, contact Des Chiwandire on chiwandiredesire@gmail.com.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/60710/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Desire Chiwandire receives funding from The Mellon Institutional Cultures and Transformation Scholarship. He is a member of the Higher Education Institutional Culture, Equity and Transformation Group under the supervision of Prof. L.D. Vincent in the Political and International Studies Department at Rhodes University, South Africa.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Louise Vincent receives funding from the Andrew Mellon Foundation and the National Research Foundation.</span></em></p>Students with disabilities find that they must accommodate themselves to institutional contexts which they find profoundly disabling.Desire Chiwandire, Doctoral Candidate, Rhodes UniversityLouise Vincent, Professor of Political Studies, Rhodes UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/573762016-04-20T15:26:40Z2016-04-20T15:26:40ZUniversities must do more to become a home for vulnerable students<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/119234/original/image-20160419-13898-1tirdrt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Universities can be alienating spaces, particularly for students from poorer backgrounds.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>There are more <a href="http://www.economist.com/node/21546062">black African</a> students from poor or working-class backgrounds at South Africa’s universities than ever before. But <a href="http://www.che.ac.za/media_and_publications/research/proposal-undergraduate-curriculum-reform-south-africa-case-flexible">research</a> shows that very few of them actually finish their degrees. Many drop out at undergraduate level. This leaves them and their families in debt and dashes their hopes of climbing the economic ladder.</p>
<p>The same research shows that the socially and economically privileged counterparts of these students fare far better. It is this structural inequality that lies at the heart of <a href="http://mg.co.za/article/2016-01-20-fees-are-just-the-start-of-change">student protests</a> that rocked the <a href="https://theconversation.com/africa/topics/feesmustfall">country’s universities</a> in late 2015 and early 2016. Universities must challenge this inequality if higher education is to experience genuine social change. </p>
<p>Of course, any such response will require a significant <a href="http://www.politicsweb.co.za/news-and-analysis/behind-the-university-funding-crisis?utm_source=Politicsweb+Daily+Headlines&utm_campaign=3b24c3e2df-DHN_20_Oct_2015&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_a86f25db99-3b24c3e2df-140192113">injection of resources</a>, such as more teaching staff being made available to undergraduate students. But not all aspects of inequality are rooted in <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2016/01/20/first-generation-college-students-are-not-succeeding-in-college-and-money-isnt-the-problem/">physical resources</a>. Plenty can be achieved if universities start dismantling the deep-seated assumptions and hierarchies that <a href="http://www.iol.co.za/the-star/we-still-dont-belong-here-1912238#.Vlng_HYrK00">maintain inequality</a> within their structures. </p>
<p>I have conducted <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Talita_Calitz/timeline">research</a> that draws on students’ own experiences to try understand how universities can cultivate the conditions that enable equal participation, regardless of race or economic status.</p>
<h2>The value of student experiences</h2>
<p>All individuals bring a number of advantages or disadvantages to university as their <a href="http://www.dhet.gov.za/summit/Docs/2015Docs/Annex%2012_Wilson-Strydom_Access%20%20%20Success.pdf">bundle of resources</a>. Ideally, they should be able to draw from this bundle to adapt and succeed. But it can also hinder them.</p>
<p>Students are marginalised when they have to negotiate factors that complicate their academic success and social integration. These include belonging to a low-income household, being historically excluded because of race, being a woman, identifying as a sexual minority or living with a physical disability. </p>
<p>I interviewed eight undergraduates at a South African university that historically catered only for white students. They were all the first in their immediate families to attend university. </p>
<p>These students arrived at university with a precarious and less-valued bundle of financial, academic and social <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Disadvantage-Oxford-Political-Theory-Jonathan/dp/0199278261?ie=UTF8&*Version*=1&*entries*=0">resources</a>. Most were from low-income families, with one or more unemployed parent or guardian. <a href="http://mg.co.za/article/2015-07-10-punished-twice-for-being-poor/">Financial pressure</a> made it difficult for them to know where money for the next meal, rent payment, taxi fare or textbook would come from. In the privileged, middle-class university space they felt anxious, ashamed and stressed. They internalised their struggles to cope as individual failure. </p>
<p>My research used a <a href="https://books.google.co.za/books/about/The_Idea_of_Justice.html?id=enqMd_ze6RMC&redir_esc=y">“capability approach”</a> to assess students’ experiences. This evaluates how available resources are converted into opportunities to achieve valued outcomes, or what are called <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoD-cjduM40">“capabilities”</a>. This could mean, for example, interrogating whether attending university automatically equips the student to become critically engaged in acquiring knowledge. If the student is only attending lectures and regurgitating information, has deep learning taken place? What structures need to be in place to ensure that the resource – in this case, education – is converted into a meaningful academic outcome for vulnerable students?</p>
<p>In other words, resources are an important but insufficient measure of equality. Structural inequality has not been adequately addressed if the environment does not offer equal opportunities for all students to convert their resources into valued outcomes.</p>
<p>The students we interviewed came up with several recommendations that might help universities become more inclusive, equitable environments.</p>
<h2>Doing things differently</h2>
<p>The students had three main concerns:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>they wanted spaces in which to build positive relationships with their lecturers;</p></li>
<li><p>they felt there should be more sustained platforms for voicing their frustrations without being dismissed as emotional or ignorant; and</p></li>
<li><p>they said it was not helpful for lecturers to constantly highlight poorer students’ failures. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>These students felt alienated, fearful and silenced. They said most lecturers weren’t open to sharing the implicit lessons and insider information needed to navigate any university experience. For example, knowing where to find free online sources, or unspoken “etiquette” about approaching or communicating with lecturers. Their more privileged peers were confident enough to approach lecturers, and so found this information more readily available.</p>
<p>Students also complained that there was no real chance for them to have fertile dialogues with teaching staff about their academic challenges. Lecturers should strive to make their classrooms a place where critical engagement with knowledge meets a humane approach to vulnerable students’ challenges. Some lecturers may need to rethink their approach to daily teaching. They could even take the process further by spending an hour a week mentoring a first-generation student.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AoD-cjduM40?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">US academic Martha Nussbaum explains the capability approach.</span></figcaption>
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<p>There’s also a broader need for spaces where lecturers and students can collaborate in ways that challenge the traditional meritocracy of a university environment. One example of this would be involving undergraduate students in research projects so they can develop academic skills. </p>
<p>The students we interviewed struggled with being constantly reminded of their struggle and academic failure. They found this demoralising and it created doubt in their ability to succeed. To overcome this, lecturers should recognise the capabilities and resources these students bring to university. Lecturers could foreground students’ agency and resilience instead of reminding them of what they cannot yet accomplish.</p>
<h2>Creating equitable universities</h2>
<p>There is no need for universities to wait for more physical resources. All of the work I’ve described here can begin immediately. These suggestions can go a long way towards making universities more welcoming, equitable environments for disadvantaged students. </p>
<p><em>Author’s note: All of the references in this article to race reflect persistent post-apartheid racial classification.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/57376/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Talita M.L. Calitz receives funding from the National Research Foundation. </span></em></p>Students from poorer backgrounds feel anxious, ashamed and stressed in the middle-class environment of a university.Talita M.L. Calitz, Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Higher Education and Human Development, University of the Free StateLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/532502016-01-25T03:29:05Z2016-01-25T03:29:05ZFeminism could offer a new way to solve the #FeesMustFall crisis<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/108747/original/image-20160120-26087-17vv9rj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A student faces off with a policeman in riot gear. Private security forces on campuses are a show of dominance and control.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA/Nic Bothma</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>There has been a breakdown of trust in South Africa’s higher education sector. Student protesters and, at some universities, university employees including cleaners and gardeners, organised themselves under the banner of <a href="https://theconversation.com/after-protests-it-cant-be-business-as-usual-at-south-africas-universities-50548">#FeesMustFall</a> in 2015 and have continued this movement <a href="http://ewn.co.za/2016/01/11/FeesMustFall-protests-back-in-full-swing">into 2016</a>. </p>
<p>Some universities have responded by employing private security companies. Vice chancellors have <a href="http://www.timeslive.co.za/local/2016/01/18/Vice-chancellor-Habib-defends-use-of-private-security-at-Wits">defended</a> this action. They say they have a responsibility to keep students, staff and property safe from violent protesters. Placing a strong security presence in <a href="http://www.timeslive.co.za/thetimes/2016/01/19/Door-to-higher-education-shut-in-Robertas-face">riot gear</a> on various parts of a campus sends a clear message of dominant control to protesting students and staff.</p>
<p>There have been many attempts to understand the conflict and strategise a way forward. I would argue that a feminist approach is helpful, more transformative and more inclusive than those currently being used.</p>
<p>A feminist lens in this case emphasises interconnectedness and intersectionality. It argues that workers’ rights, a <a href="https://theconversation.com/professors-arent-born-they-must-be-nurtured-43670">more diverse</a> teaching body and a <a href="https://theconversation.com/its-time-to-take-the-curriculum-back-from-dead-white-men-40268">decolonised curriculum</a> are all part of making the university a relevant public good in current South Africa. </p>
<p>This lens also notices that there are substantive differences of experience within the categories of student, worker, management and state. These differences are <a href="http://vanguardmagazine.co.za/intersectionality-and-womanism-a-brand-of-feminism-relevant-for-a-young-black-woman/">based on</a> race, class, gender, sexual orientation and other factors.</p>
<p>This has been demonstrated by the activities of one arm of the #FeesMustFall movement, which I will explore in this article. Their actions and engagement with university managers offer a possible way to think about the next few months.</p>
<h2>A case study</h2>
<p>At its core, the #FeesMustFall movement focuses on how various aspects of any university are interconnected: budget, labour, curriculum, student access. It also concentrates on the intersection of oppression in terms of race, class, gender, sexual orientation and religion.</p>
<p>At what some are calling “the university <a href="http://www.iol.co.za/capetimes/rhodes-university-seeks-renaming-team-1.1927232">currently known</a> as Rhodes”, members of the Black Students Movement started protesting in March 2015. For this arm of the #FeesMustFall movement, the fight for social justice has rallying points of student accommodation, or fees. But it also seeks to alter multiple sources and symptoms of structural oppression within the university. </p>
<p>It follows the <a href="https://www.justassociates.org/sites/justassociates.org/files/feminist-leadership-clearing-conceptual-cloud-srilatha-batliwala.pdf">injunction</a> that “the mission of gender equality and social justice is infused into every job, every activity and every location”.</p>
<p>They not only spoke up around accommodation issues, but also contributed to a conference and conversation about decolonising the curriculum. Over the months they met with black academics and support staff. They held regular meetings to discuss concerns, inform themselves, and develop a holistic and responsive strategy. As it developed into what became the #FeesMustFall movement, it was clear that it was strongly influenced by black feminist principles.</p>
<p>Like the #FeesMustFall movements across the country, feminist theories are not homogenous. Leading South African academic <a href="http://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2015-09-25-review-rape-a-south-african-nightmare/#.Vp9VNPl97IU">Pumla Gqola</a>, for instance, defines feminism as a way to dismantle patriarchy. Patriarchy, she says, positions women as docile and as objects. It positions men as dominant, aggressive, violent and holding the associated assumptions of superiority. The work of feminism, then, is to liberate people from these positions. This will humanise them and bring about equality.</p>
<p>Equality is a key aspect of the #FeesMustFall movement. At Rhodes, the movement was guided by principles of shared leadership and participation. All voices were included in its meetings. </p>
<p>At one point, Rhodes University Vice Chancellor Sizwe Mabizela sat in a circle with protesters in the street where they had assembled to protest. This gesture defined the terms of engagement. It recognised the distribution of power that is based on race, class, gender and age. Mabizela was taken out of his comfort zone - a symbolic demonstration of the movement’s commitment to feminist principles of equality. </p>
<p>Rhodes was also one of the few universities where, at the height of the protests in October 2015, the vice chancellor <a>actively discouraged</a> the police from entering university premises. </p>
<h2>Structural violence is real</h2>
<p>Universities’ decision to deploy a heavy security presence represents the patriarchal tendency to essentialise a conflict. Doing this facilitates resolution through control and dominance. It reduces protesters to objects to be arranged or rendered powerless. </p>
<p>But these protesters are legitimately fighting not only for financial inclusion but for equality and justice in terms of the curriculum, language, employment, race, class and gender. Higher education in South Africa has not transformed enough since the country became a democracy in 1994. It has failed to address adequately the pervasive structural violence which is inflicted on groups of essentialised bodies - such as poor, black students, black academics and black contracted workers.</p>
<p>Simplifying the binary of state and capital vs protesters denies the impact of this structural violence. Students sit through years of an education <a href="https://theconversation.com/professors-arent-born-they-must-be-nurtured-43670">without</a> a black lecturer. They are required to study a <a href="https://theconversation.com/south-african-students-must-be-given-the-chance-to-read-what-they-like-41790">western canon</a>. They are <a href="http://www.grocotts.co.za/content/tales-divided-city-not-place-peasants-10-03-2014">judged</a> by their accents and language. They see a bureaucracy miming “transformation” without it making a substantive difference to the lives of promising but poor black people. They have not been taken seriously enough.</p>
<p>There is no easy solution. But if patriarchy is to be dismantled, it would need to start with rethinking the security presence. It would require all sides to truly listen to each other as equals in order to negotiate a satisfactory timeline for demands to be met. This would be in keeping with author and theorist bell hooks’ <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Feminism-Is-Everybody-Passionate-Politics/dp/0896086283">assertion</a> that:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Radical visionary feminism encourages all of us to courageously examine our lives from the standpoint of gender, race, and class so that we can accurately understand our position within the imperialist white supremacist capitalist patriarchy.</p>
</blockquote><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/53250/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Corinne Knowles is supportive of the Black Students Movement and the #FeesMustFall movement</span></em></p>The way in which one group of South African student protesters has acted and engaged with university managers shows how valuable a feminist approach to protest can be.Corinne Knowles, Lecturer, Academic development/feminism, Rhodes UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/405832015-05-15T04:32:11Z2015-05-15T04:32:11ZSouth Africa’s doors of learning are open – but not yet to all<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/80315/original/image-20150504-8429-qrzoum.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">childinwheelchair</span> </figcaption></figure><p>There is a line in South Africa’s Freedom Charter, which was drafted 60 years ago, that foreshadows the country’s current attitude to education. It <a href="http://www.sahistory.org.za/freedom-charter">declares</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>The doors of learning and culture shall be open to all!</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Twenty-one years into its life as a democracy, South Africa appears at first glance to have met the Freedom Charter’s challenge. Almost 97.5% of the country’s children aged between seven and 17 <a href="http://www.childrencount.ci.org.za/indicator.php?id=6&indicator=15">are attending</a> primary or secondary schools. </p>
<p>The picture was <a href="http://africanhistory.about.com/od/apartheid/ss/ApartheidSkool1.htm">very different</a> during apartheid, particularly for black South African children at every level of schooling. In 1982, only 57.4% black children attended primary school and just 17.2% were enrolled in high school.</p>
<p>But access hasn’t improved across the board. Not all children have fared well. An estimated 200 000 children and adolescents <a href="http://www.education.gov.za/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=9ruVAN9z2Gs%3D">do not attend</a> school, many of whom have disabilities or special needs. The school gates are closed to these children partly because teachers <a href="http://mg.co.za/article/2014-09-23-disabled-children-face-education-uphill-battle">lack the skills</a> needed to teach learners who have disabilities or need extra support.</p>
<p>The solution seems simple: if teachers haven’t been properly prepared to help differently-abled pupils, why don’t we just train them better? </p>
<h2>A disconnect between workshops and the classroom</h2>
<p>South Africa has followed international trends by making a policy commitment to inclusive education. The Department of Basic Education <a href="http://www.thutong.doe.gov.za/Default.aspx?alias=www.thutong.doe.gov.za/inclusiveeducation">defines this</a> as “the process of addressing the diverse needs of all learners by reducing barriers to and within the learning environment.”</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rfWhQUz2J70?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Many countries are pursuing inclusive education policies.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Canadian academic <a href="http://education.concordia.ab.ca/inclusionpodcast/">Tim Loreman</a> says that educators cannot be expected to teach inclusively if they don’t have a positive attitude to learners with disabilities. Teachers need access to classroom strategies that give all their pupils the opportunity to learn and must be committed to collaborative, lifelong learning.</p>
<p>The Provincial Departments of Education, universities and various non-governmental organisations offer workshops and short courses to boost teachers’ knowledge, skills and attitudes to enable them to teach inclusively. </p>
<p>Most of this training is not held at schools. Teachers leave their campuses, are lectured by experts and then return to their posts. The assumption is that after being trained, teachers will apply their new knowledge in the classroom.</p>
<p>Professors Norma Nel and Oupa Lebeloane, Helene Muller and I wanted to investigate whether this was the case. We surveyed 19 teachers who attended a workshop about aspects of inclusive education. Initially, the teachers all said they were satisfied with the training. </p>
<p>Eight months later we interviewed ten of the teachers in two focus groups to see how they had implemented the workshop’s lessons. With only a few exceptions the answer was, “I haven’t.”</p>
<p>The teachers gave a number of reasons, including their perceptions of:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>High learner to teacher ratios. Teachers said it was difficult to give extra attention to struggling learners because they felt their classes were too full.</p></li>
<li><p>A lack of teacher assistants, particularly to help learners with additional support needs;</p></li>
<li><p>Inadequate space in their classrooms, particularly where learners used wheelchairs;</p></li>
<li><p>The pressure of covering the fast-moving curriculum as well as preparing pupils for the government-mandated Annual National Assessments, which test literacy and numeracy levels.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Crucially, teachers felt that the challenges of the school environment made it too difficult to translate the principles presented in the workshop into specific lesson content. One said: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>You can train us until we are blue in our faces, we are still going to struggle.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The teachers didn’t believe that more workshops would solve these problems. Instead, they suggested bringing learning support specialists into schools to help adapt the curriculum to their learners’ diverse needs. These specialists could also guide teachers’ efforts to differentiate their lessons and assessment to ensure inclusive learning.</p>
<p>Teachers also shared a deeper misgiving. Despite the <a href="http://www.education.gov.za/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=gVFccZLi/tI=">policy</a> on inclusive education, they were not all convinced that children with learning difficulties and other disabilities should be in mainstream schools. Teachers complained that they weren’t consulted properly before their school was made accessible for disabled children.</p>
<h2>Rethinking professional development for teachers</h2>
<p>This study and others like it emphasise that in-service professional development is far more complex than merely “workshopping” teachers on topics that are deemed important. High-quality, well-delivered courses and workshops are needed for teacher professional development - but they are not a magic potion.</p>
<p>Effective professional development must acknowledge the interplay between the content of workshops, teachers’ attitudes towards their own learning and the challenging realities of South African classroom life.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/40583/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Elizabeth Walton does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>South African teachers say it’s a struggle to apply their training about “inclusive education” in crowded, stressful classroom situations.Elizabeth Walton, Senior lecturer in Inclusive Education, University of the WitwatersrandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.