Transformative change in South Africa's academic employment? Shifts in democratising academic labour and its labour force

Dina Zoe Belluigi*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapter (peer-reviewed)peer-review

Abstract

Segregation has been central to South Africa’s institutional architecture, inscribed and re-authorised through higher education. ‘Transformation’ was embedded in the 1996 constitution as a discourse to proactively address apartheid and colonialist legacies through informed national policies and practices. This chapter discusses the shifts and tensions which have emerged in academic staffing, following the negotiated political revolution from ‘white’ minority rule which also brought international investment and influence. The problematic foundations of higher education institutions and employment policies in the country are outlined, in order to historicise the sector’s current orientation, and targets, for social and demographic change. While energies have been focussed on transforming the sector’s racist and patriarchal legacies, university governance has paradoxically moved away from internal democratisation and towards managerialism and corporatisation. Such global tensions raise questions about the conditions of possibility for a post-colonial country to reconcile local transformation within current neoliberal geopolitics.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationResearch Handbook on academic labour markets
EditorsGlenda Stranchan
PublisherEdward Elgar Publishing Ltd
Chapter17
Pages237–247
Number of pages12
ISBN (Electronic)9781803926865
ISBN (Print)9781803926858
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 17 Sept 2024

Publication series

NameElgar Handbooks in Education

Keywords

  • labour
  • academic
  • universities
  • South Africa
  • equality
  • teaching
  • research
  • third mission
  • community engagement
  • race
  • gender
  • apartheid
  • colonialism

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