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.

This book explores the idea that teaching and learning - pedagogy - at universities is a crucial space for students' formation as ethical graduates, equipped with knowledge, skills and values to contribute to more equal societies. We know that universities across the globe do not stand apart from social and educational inequalities at multiple levels; they have the potential to reproduce or reduce social inequalities and therefore towards transformative ends. This book suggests how this could be achieved both via policy and practice around the globe

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.