ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on pedagogy to the university as an institution. Universities would benefit from pedagogical interventions that give the most vulnerable students an equal chance to succeed. The macro-economic and social forces that create inequality have shaped the contours of universities in South Africa. Universities could ensure that existing resources in earmarked grants are allocated to transform academic support programmes. Universities also need participatory platforms in pedagogy, curricula and institutional transformation where issues of exclusion are addressed while challenging the misrecognition of students. Recognition must be formalised as part of an institutional culture, and should be embedded into academic programmes. A basic resource threshold is a foundational requirement that should precede other pedagogical and institutional interventions, depending on the circumstances of individual students. Despite policies in higher education that aim to equalise participation, for many students university offers hardship and confusion, loneliness and disappointment, fear of failure and misrecognition of potential.
