Reflections on equity and diversity at higher education institutions in South Africa

Abstract

Equity and diversity have become part of the dialogue, debate, policy and
scholarship at higher education institutions in South Africa. These have appeared
through the transformation agendas at institutions, focussing on a number of
different issues: student access and development, staff equity, institutional climate
or culture etc. This paper reflects on the issues of equity and diversity in higher
education institutions through the development of a framework of domains into
which existing research may be classified. The organising framework incorporates
the variables that impact the development of equity and diversity, documents the
research and practice, and identifies areas for further research in the field of equity
and diversity in higher education institutions.

South African Journal of Higher Education Vol. 19 (4) 2005: pp.653-665