Browsing by Author "Onwunta, Chima"

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    Language as an aspect of transformation at a Stellenbosch University Residence
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2019-12) Onwunta, Chima; Hill, Lloyd; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Sociology and Social Anthropology.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: After 2002, South African higher education institutions were compelled to establish new policies according to the Language Policy for Higher Education. In order to be inclusive of students and staff members from all racial, cultural and language backgrounds, Stellenbosch University developed and implemented several language policies and plans. The effect of these policies has been a gradual shift from Afrikaans to English as the dominant priority language of teaching, and the status of Afrikaans has consequently declined. These policies were primarily focused on transformation in the classroom. However, little is known about the influences of the language policies on the out-of-classroom experiences of students. This study therefore examines language as an aspect of transformation at Helshoogte residence, a traditionally Afrikaans residence at Stellenbosch University. The residence placement policy has guided transformation and diversity management in residential spaces. This policy is therefore also explored. At Stellenbosch University, residences are critical structural components of institutional culture. By conducting semi-structured interviews and observations, the experiences of predominantly black students were used to assess how they experience transformation in a historically white residence. There are structural patterns that persist and maintain English and Afrikaans as the dominant forms of cultural capital in the residence. Residences are transforming quantitatively, but issues of residence culture persist, which exclude black students and compel them to assimilate or be marginalized.