Abstract
Access to South African Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) has increased, however, improved success and graduation rates continue to decrease especially with the Black African population. Therefore, Black African youth entering university do so from positions of extreme inequalities in terms of schooling background, class, and economic resources. Such inequalities have a large impact on these students’ success and dropout at university before they graduate. This study adopted a qualitative approach to investigate Black African students’ experiences of retention and attrition at a university in South Africa. Data were collected by interviewing sixty-six Black African students from eight South African universities. Tinto’s Student Integration Model (SIM) was used as a theoretical lens to reflect on participants’ experiences and how these experiences impact their decision to persist or drop out before completion. The findings indicate that Black African students continue to feel unwelcomed in some universities, especially the previously Whites-dominated universities. The findings indicate that most Black African students come from impoverished backgrounds, and they cannot afford tuition fees which negatively affects their success at university. The findings further suggest that high school background does not adequately prepare Black African students to adapt to the university curriculum and university culture. The findings indicate that language continues to disadvantage Black African students at university which compromises their academic success. Finally, the study suggests that to improve the academic success of Black African students the university curriculum must be decolonized.
Presenters
Siyanda CeleLecturer, Adult Community and Continuing Education, University of South Africa, Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Black-African, Retention, Attrition, Students
