In this article I draw on the Sarte's notion of "seriality" as theorized in his book "Dialectic of Reason" and as interpreted by Iris Marion Young. I argue that seriality can be used to escape the false essentialism and identity politics of race as a category for admissions to universities. A series is a social collective whose members are unified…

This article is a discussion of the educational being and becoming of university students. It focuses on the reflexive adaptations of a group of teacher education students at a South African university. I consider some key processes related to their formal epistemological induction into their professional becoming as teachers. Based on a…

At the heart of the discussion in this special issue on race and affirmative action is the issue of whether race should be used as a category in admissions policies of South African universities. In my contribution I shall argue that there are no races. By race I mean the idea that skin colour (or other phenotypical features) associated with…

Soudien (2009) states that affirmative action is not just about "inhabiting the university with people of colour; it is about appropriating the transcendence it makes possible as a consummately human and open-ended gift to humankind, and not, critically, a "white" gift". This engagement with Soudien's (2009) invitation to take up the challenge of…

This article examines the necessary shift to a sociality of meaning-making for university entrants if the goals of affirmative action within higher education, and the possible effects of its continued application, are to be fulfilled. Given that the practice of education in universities is meant to be the organisation of knowledge in ways that…

In this article I contend that we cannot divorce affirmative action from issues about race and racism. Further, debates on affirmative action have to acknowledge the power of words/concepts/definitions and how they can be constructed and used for the purposes of domination or liberation. I argue that, in debating affirmative action, we have to…

In the light of transformational discourses in higher education in South Africa, it has become necessary to pose the question--what is a university? Such a question requires that the idea of the university, as well as its role in society be reflected upon critically. This author contends that much of present day transformational discourse in…

The compelling essays in this issue of the journal take on the often contentious and complex issue of racial affirmative action. I do not wish to repeat the arguments authors offer either in defence or against student admissions to a university on the grounds of race, (dis)advantage, class, gender, and so on. Rather, I wish to respond to a…

The assumption grounding this issue of "SAJHE" is that; a university or any institution of higher learning comes to its fullness through serious engagement with the community. All authors herein deconstruct the ivory tower notion of a university and attempt to look at it as an integral instance of civil society which has to contribute and learn…

This article reports, from the insider's perspective, on a research project comprising fifteen academics in the Faculty of Education Sciences at the North-West University and fifteen senior officials from one of the four Education Districts in the North West Province. This project has as its research theme, hence aim; "the creation of sustainable…

Our article arises out of our involvement in an undergraduate module (Drama Education 310) at UKZN Faculty of Education, where we used workshop theatre to explore how students construct knowledge and develop socio-cultural understandings of critical events in society such as Xenophobia. The project reflects how young black students constitute…

This article explores the praxis that informs higher education, and how students with special educational needs make sense of their experiences concerning higher education. The discourse that this article challenges is oppression, inequalities, exclusion and marginalization of students with SEN. This article also creates a forum of amplification…

The premise of this article is that the "jury is still out" to describe what effective Community Engagement entails in South African higher education institutions. The current discussions about community engagement and service learning do not cover the primary objective of adding value to the community, particularly of the rural-based universities…

Children, youth, women, the elderly, men and their leaders are integral components of rural communities. It is important to ensure that their unique needs and perceptions shape development programming. However, despite having various policies and legal frameworks introduced to deepen democracy in South Africa, current rural development programming…

In view of the fact that diversity in higher education has increased, it has become critical to deal with the needs of non-traditional students, and especially the students underprepared for the demands of higher education. In an attempt to address this issue and answer the question, "How can underprepared students be encouraged to become more…