‘Like strangers in a new world … ’ Interrogating issues of access, belonging and participation of foreign students in private higher education in South Africa

ABSTRACT

Following the birth of South Africa's democracy there has been an increasing number of foreign students entering the country. In the main, students from a very unstable African continent see South African tertiary institutions as a beacon of hope in achieving academic capital. Due to their monetary value, foreign students are welcomed into educational institutions, creating the perception that foreigners are academically and socially included. However, spatial access is not necessarily synonymous with inclusion. This article captures the experiences of inclusion, exclusion and marginalisation of a cohort of African international students at a private higher education institution in Johannesburg, South Africa. The study argues that the nature of educational inclusion is more multi-faceted than bi-directional with issues of power, overtly or subtly affecting student experience. Students’ constructs of inclusion extend beyond formal acceptance and presence in lecture venues, to experiences of marginalisation, exclusion and alienation by both staff and peers. These experiences reinforce the students’ vulnerability in terms of academic success as well as social acceptance. Management teams at educational institutions have the responsibility to provide adequate support to foreign students who view themselves as ‘strangers in a new world … ’

KEYWORDS:

• Inclusion
• exclusion
• marginalisation
• discourse of power
• international (foreign
• migrant) students
• private higher education
• social capital

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

David Naidoo is the campus director of an established private tertiary institution in the Western Cape, South Africa. As a manager of various private tertiary institutions since 2003, he has interacted with a large number of foreign students, who hail from the African continent. The findings of his research on the experiences of foreign students were co-presented at an Inclusive and Supportive Education Congress (ISEC) in Lisbon, Portugal in July 2015. He is presently working on a PhD (Inclusive Education) researching the lived experiences of foreign students at public universities in the Western Cape, South Africa. His passion lies in celebrating diversity of people through acceptance and belonging.