University Access and Success ─ Capabilities, Diversity and Social Justice

The challenge of widening access and participation in higher education in a manner that ensures students are successful in their studies is a major issue globally and a significant research-focus within higher education studies and higher education policy. Similarly, the challenge of under-preparedness of students entering higher education has become increasingly pertinent as universities in both developed and developing countries struggle to improve their throughput rates in a context in which schooling no longer seems to provide sufficient preparation for entering university.

In this book Merridy Wilson-Strydom applies the capabilities approach to better understand university access and participation and draws on a rich case study from South Africa to critically and innovatively explore the complex and contradictory terrain of access with success. The book integrates quantitative and qualitative research with theory and practical application to provide a new framework for considering and improving the transition from school to university.

University Access and Success will appeal to academics and researchers in the field of higher education internationally. The book also contributes to the growing body of international and comparative scholarship on the capabilities approach in higher education and will therefore be of value to higher education practitioners, such as those working in the promotion of teaching and learning, higher education quality assurance, institutional research and student affairs.

Merridy Wilson-Strydom is Director in the Directorate for Institutional Research and Academic Planning at the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein, South Africa.