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A Capabilities Approach to African Women’s Success in Doctoral Programmes in South Africa

Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2021.

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Other Authors: Calitz, Talita
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: University of Pretoria 2021
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access_status_str Open Access
author2 Calitz, Talita
author_browse Calitz, Talita
author_facet Calitz, Talita
collection Thesis
dc_rights_str_mv © 2021 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria.
description Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2021.
format Thesis
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institution University of Pretoria (South Africa)
language English
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:40:48.647Z
license_str Other — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository
publishDate 2021
publishDateRange 2021
publishDateSort 2021
publisher University of Pretoria
publisherStr University of Pretoria
record_format dspace
source_str UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository
spelling oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/80526 A Capabilities Approach to African Women’s Success in Doctoral Programmes in South Africa Calitz, Talita u17287686@tuks.co.za Adeyemo, K.S. (Kolawole Samuel) Tsephe, Lifutso UCTD African women capabilities approach doctoral education higher education Education theses SDG-04 Education theses SDG-05 Education theses SDG-08 Education theses SDG-10 Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2021. There are many documented reasons why both men and women fail to complete their doctoral studies such as insufficient funding, family responsibilities as well as demotivation due to lack of progress in their research (Herman, 2011c, Gardner, 2008, Magano, 2011). However, it is arguable that men are at an advantage of completing their doctoral studies at a higher rate compared to women, partly due to the masculine culture within higher education institutions, which includes aspects such as having more male senior lecturers/academics (Brown and Watson, 2010, Ismail, 2011, Haake, 2011). Several studies have shown how African women’s experience and performance in doctoral studies are impacted by several relations within the learning environment such as lack of role models, mentorship, insufficient funding, dual identities and masculine environment (Brown and Watson, 2010, Johnson-Bailey, Velentine, Cervero, and Bowles, 2008). Despite such obstacles, it is important to mention that there are some women, who successfully complete their doctoral studies. This study, therefore, aims to focus on African women who have successfully completed their doctoral studies in South Africa in order to bring forth positive narratives of African women’s success in doctoral education. Using the capabilities approach as the analytical framework, and in-depth interviews with fourteen selected African women doctoral graduates from a South African university, this study examines women’s experiences of accessing, participating and progressing through doctoral programmes in higher education. The research adopts an interpretative model, which results in principles that are necessary for interpreting the actions and behaviours of people, such as agency, opportunities, and beings and doings in seeking to answer the following questions: 1) What capabilities using the capabilities approach enabled African women, doctoral students’ success in higher education? 2) What functionings did African women, doctoral graduates hope for after completion of their doctoral studies? 3) How did African women use their agency to develop capabilities (opportunities and freedoms) for academic success? 4) What conversion factors enabled or constrained African women’s success in their doctoral journeys? bs2026 Education Management and Policy Studies PhD Unrestricted SDG-04: Quality education SDG-05: Gender equality SDG-08: Decent work and economic growth SDG-10: Reduced inequalities 2021-06-22T12:29:28Z 2021-06-22T12:29:28Z 21/04/22 2021 Thesis Tsephe, L 2021, A Capabilities Approach to African Women’s Success in Doctoral Programmes in South Africa, PhD Thesis, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd <http://hdl.handle.net/2263/80526> A2021 http://hdl.handle.net/2263/80526 en © 2021 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. application/pdf University of Pretoria
spellingShingle UCTD
African women
capabilities approach
doctoral education
higher education
Education theses SDG-04
Education theses SDG-05
Education theses SDG-08
Education theses SDG-10
A Capabilities Approach to African Women’s Success in Doctoral Programmes in South Africa
title A Capabilities Approach to African Women’s Success in Doctoral Programmes in South Africa
title_full A Capabilities Approach to African Women’s Success in Doctoral Programmes in South Africa
title_fullStr A Capabilities Approach to African Women’s Success in Doctoral Programmes in South Africa
title_full_unstemmed A Capabilities Approach to African Women’s Success in Doctoral Programmes in South Africa
title_short A Capabilities Approach to African Women’s Success in Doctoral Programmes in South Africa
title_sort capabilities approach to african women s success in doctoral programmes in south africa
topic UCTD
African women
capabilities approach
doctoral education
higher education
Education theses SDG-04
Education theses SDG-05
Education theses SDG-08
Education theses SDG-10
url http://hdl.handle.net/2263/80526