Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / Der Fakultät für Sozialwissenschaften und Philosophie der Universität Leipzig / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Worldwide, national higher education systems and universities are repeatedly confronted
with global higher education trends and the challenge to handle them in specific national and
institutional contexts. This observation relates to the broader question how processes of
globalization affect university politics. The work at hand provides insights into how South
Africa and the South African Stellenbosch University (SU) were facing recent processes of
globalization in a situation of deep societal transformation after the end of apartheid.
The dissertation examines how university politics in South Africa were negotiated after 1990.
It investigates which local and global actors were involved and with what kind of interests
they influenced the process. For SU, it is analysed how the different levels making up the
University understood current international trends in higher education and how this
understanding brought about institutional change leading to inter- and transnationalization.
The thesis applies a qualitative multi-method approach drawing on document analysis and
interviews. The research is grounded on major research reports and national policy
documents on higher education, institutional documents of SU (e.g. the Senate and Council
documentation, brochures and speeches) as well as on a total of 52 semi-structured
interviews that were conducted with current and former representatives of SU as well as of
the national South African higher education system between 2010 and 2012.
Theoretically, the study draws on debates from higher education research and transnational
history concerning the internationalization and transnationalization of higher education. It
follows an analytical perspective for exploring and understanding higher education
developments that goes beyond the conventional state-centric nation-state model used to
analysing social processes and interactions. Therefore, the dissertation traces the impact of
the different spatial references of the local and the national level for university politics and
looks at how the local relates to the national and both of them to the regional and the global.
By approaching the topic historically, the study challenges the often referred to hypotheses of
academic isolationism and SU’s increasing insularity due to the international academic
boycott against South Africa during the apartheid era. It accentuates that prior to 1990 there
were many international activities going on at SU. Furthermore, the findings show that SU
has embarked comparatively early on a purposeful and strategic process of
internationalization, which occurred prior to its national opening in the form of transformation
and redress. Only by the turn of the century, processes of internationalization were paralleled
by an open transformation attempt. This was quite in contrast to the post-1990 dealing with
higher education on the national South African level and by many other South African universities. The study demonstrates that in approaching the challenges of societal
transformation and global processes, SU’s management initially favoured the “efficiency”
discourse over the “redress” discourse in order to pave the way for becoming an
internationally esteemed research university. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Nasionale hoëronderwysstelsels en universiteite word wêreldwyd voortdurend gekonfronteer
met globale hoëronderwystendense en die uitdaging om in spesifieke nasionale en
institusionele kontekste daarop te reageer. Hierdie waarneming hou verband met die meer
omvattende vraag hoe globaliseringsprosesse universiteitspolitiek beïnvloed. Hierdie studie
gee insig in hoe Suid-Afrika op nasionale vlak en die Universiteit Stellenbosch (US) in Suid-
Afrika die resente globaliseringsprosesse te midde van ’n situasie van ingrypende
maatskaplike transformasie ná die einde van apartheid hanteer het.
Die tesis fokus op die universiteitspolitiek in Suid-Afrika na 1990. Die plaaslike en globale
rolspelers wat betrokke was en die vraag na die soort belange wat die proses beïnvloed het,
word ondersoek In die spesifieke geval van die US word ontleed hoe die huidige
internasionale tendense in hoër onderwys op verskillende vlakke binne die Universiteit
verstaan word en hoe hierdie begrip daarvan institusionele veranderinge teweeg gebring het
wat tot inter- en transnasionalisering aanleiding gegee het.
In die tesis word ’n kwalitatiewe veelmetodebenadering toegepas wat gebruik maak van
dokumentontleding en onderhoude. Die navorsing is gegrond op belangrike
navorsingsverslae en nasionale beleidsdokumente oor hoër onderwys, institusionele
dokumente van die US (bv. Senaats- en Raadsdokumente, brosjures en toesprake) sowel as
op ’n totaal van 52 semigestruktureerde onderhoude wat tussen 2010 en 2012 gevoer is met
huidige en voormalige personeellede van die US en met belangrike rolspelers in die
nasionale Suid-Afrikaanse hoëronderwysstelsel.
Op teoretiese vlak steun die studie op debatte in hoëronderwysnavorsing en die geskiedenis
van die internasionalisering en transnasionalisering van hoër onderwys. Die studie maak
gebruik van ’n analitiese perspektief om hoëronderwysontwikkelings te ondersoek en te
deurgrond. Dit strek verder as die konvensionele staatsentriese model wat gebruik word om
maatskaplike prosesse en interaksies te ontleed. Die effek van die verskillende ruimtelike
verwysings na die plaaslike en nasionale vlakke op universiteitspolitiek word ondersoek.
Daar word gekyk na die verband tussen die plaaslike aspekte en nasionale aspekte, en hoe
beide hierdie aspekte verband hou met regionale en globale aspekte. Aangesien die onderwerp histories benader word, word die algemeen aanvaarde hipoteses
ten opsigte van die akademiese isolasie in die algemeen en spesifiek die US se toenemende
isolasie weens die internasionale akademiese boikot teen Suid-Afrika gedurende die
apartheidsera, uitgedaag. Dit beklemtoon dat daar in die tydperk voor 1990 verskeie
internasionaliseringsaktiwiteite by die US was. In vergelyking met ander instellings het die
US reeds vroeg ’n doelgerigte en strategiese proses van internasionalisering aangepak. Dit
het gebeur voor die tydperk waartydens die nasionale oopstelling plaasgevind het wat onder
meer die vorm aangeneem het van transformasie en regstelling. Eers tydens die draai van
die eeu aan die einde van die negentigerjare het prosesse van internasionalisering parallel
geloop met ’n oop transformasiepoging. Dit was in redelike kontras met die tendense in hoër
onderwys na 1990 op nasionale vlak in Suid-Afrika, en met die tendense by baie ander Suid-
Afrikaanse universiteite. In die studie word aangetoon dat die US se bestuur in hul
benadering tot die uitdagings van maatskaplike transformasie en globale prosesse
aanvanklik die “doeltreffendheidsdiskoers” bo die "regstellingsdiskoers” verkies het om die
weg voor te berei om ’n internasionaal erkende navorsingsuniversiteit te word.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:sun/oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/95959 |
| Date | 12 1900 |
| Creators | Baumert, Stefanie Christine |
| Contributors | Botha, Jan, Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Centre for Research on Evaluation, Science and Technology. |
| Publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | en_ZA |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 350 p., 350 p. |
| Rights | Stellenbosch University |
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