In South Africa, the focus of the democratic government elected in 1994 has shifted from the need to achieve equity in relation to access to higher education to the need to achieve greater efficiency in terms of the way the tertiary system functions as a whole. One result of this shift is that debates about what it means to provide‘epistemological access’ in terms of curricula and teaching methodologies have been sidelined in favour of the need to develop curricula which will (...) allow students to become members of a global workforce. This article examines issues related to access not only in terms of the theoretical debate just outlined but also in terms of the way financial and other constraints impact on the higher education system itself. (shrink)

This article continues the debate about the transition from school to university begun in the international forum in volume 2 of this journal and developed in the thoughtful response from Michael Marland in volume 2. It examines some of the many points made there in relation to students’ own views. Interested colleagues at different institutions were invited to issue a short questionnaire to first-year undergraduates studying English, to discover how well prepared they felt for specified aspects of this transition. Some (...) of the outcomes have discipline-specific implications, but others may be applied more widely. The article focuses on students’ responses to the different teaching methods used, the amount of reading required of them, and essay writing. It identifies areas where the transition is fairly smooth, but highlights others where student responses suggest that all those involved, including policy makers and politicians, need to rethink. (shrink)

This article examines the teaching of Advanced level students in both years of their studies at two secondary schools in the Staffordshire area. The purpose of the investigation is to compare the tuition of A level students to the teaching of first year undergraduates at Keele University, specifically in relation to concerns raised by the undergraduates during the potentially disorientating period at the start of their degree studies. The question of whether there is a need to manage the students’ transition (...) to higher education more effectively is considered. (shrink)

The article considers the current position of research in the Humanities in the light of social changes and in particular changes in verbal and visual literacy. The author suggests that the two weakest areas in the Humanities, Literary Studies and Foreign Language Studies, need to rethink themselves increasingly in terms of rigour following the success stories in other areas of the Humanities such as Classics, History, and Film and Media Studies. The importance of interdisciplinarity is emphasized and in an increasingly (...) fragmented world the need for students to have a range of skills and breadth of knowledge is outlined. In conclusion, despite the need for some areas in the Humanities to rethink themselves and move beyond their current complacent position, the author is optimistic for the Humanities in the future. (shrink)