This book provides a narrative account of the experiences of twenty former scholarship students from historically disadvantaged communities who attended elite public and private secondary schools. It draws on in-depth, one-on-one semi-structured interviews conducted with former scholarship recipients who were between the ages of 19 and 24 years at the time of the interviews. Various themes are explored, specifically focusing on elite schooling in relation to the experiences and navigational practices of the scholarship recipients and the adjustments that they felt they needed to make in order to fit into the elite school space.
The book analyses and discusses the reflective experiences of students who were awarded a scholarship to attend an elite secondary school. It reveals that accepting the gift of a scholarship is far more complex, multi-layered, and at times harsh and even painful for the individual recipients than is possibly realized by those involved in thispractice. This book contributes to academic educational debates within the sociology of education, elite schools and schooling in the post-apartheid South African context.
Table of Content
1. Introduction.- 2. The Gift of a Scholarship.- 3. Setting the Scene: Students in Elite Educational Contexts.- 4. Entering the Field.- 5. Cultural Capital in the Wrong Currency.- 6. Fitting into the ‘New Normal’.- 7. Changing Habitus?.- 8. Conclusion: Reflections and Playing it Forward.
About the author
Jennifer Wallace is the Principal of a fee-paying public girls-only school located in Cape Town, South Africa. The focus of her research work, and recently submitted Ph D, is on the experiences of scholarship students within elite educational institutions in post-apartheid South Africa.
Jennnifer Feldman is a lecturer in the Department of Education Policy Studies at Stellenbosch University. Her research and teaching focus primarily on issues of education, policy and management in relation to South African education; marginalized students, diversity, inclusivity and social justice; and the integration of technology in teaching and learning in diverse educational contexts.
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