Race and opportunity in the transition from school to higher education in South Africa

Abstract

This chapter begins by setting out the parameters within which the notion of discrimination in learning pathways can be considered. It proceeds to compare the findings of a 2001 baseline study of the higher education aspirations of grade 12 learners, across all nine provinces of South Africa, with the higher education enrollment profile for 2002. The comparison is then juxtaposed against a second one, the derived from the findings of another baseline study. In that case, the higher education aspirations of grade 12 learners in a 2005 cohort are compared with the higher education enrollment profile for 2006. An exploration of the determination of discrimination in learning pathways follows this analysis. The chapter concludes with a consideration of the effect of racial classification on the perpetuation of discrimination.