Starting the conversation with African engineering educators about student success

Abstract

CONTEXT The literature on student success is rich, but most of it is written from the perspective of the Global North. The interventions proposed in the literature may not be practicable or relevant in an African context, or may not be seen by decision makers to be applicable. A preliminary review of the literature shows limited formal African scholarship on engineering student success. We seek to surface and value the expertise on student success that already exists in African engineering institutions, and add it as a contribution to the literature. PURPOSE The objective of the larger research project is to expand the literature on student success to include perspectives from sub-Saharan Africa. We aim to understand existing African models for student success in engineering, which can enable practical interventions in curriculum design and in institutional support structures. The goal of this paper is to begin to understand student success in the context of three African engineering institutions. METHODOLOGY This paper presents the first phase of the research, in which we explore the perspectives of a small number of experienced engineering educators from a range of countries and institutions in sub-Saharan Africa, through the medium of an online focus group. This initial unstructured conversation gives us an understanding of the current situation in which educators find themselves. The focus group data was interpreted using Bourdieu's theory of practice, which addresses inequalities in education. OUTCOMES The focus group data has allowed us to scope the range of contexts in which student success should be considered in sub-Saharan Africa, and identified critical areas for deeper study and further questioning. Based on this, we have developed an interview guide for semi-structured interviews with a wider group of participants, and confirmed that Bourdieu's theory of practice is an appropriate theoretical framework for analysing the second phase interview data. CONCLUSIONS In order for engineering education research to contribute to changes in practice, it needs to be relevant for local contexts. This research begins to develop scholarship around student success from multiple African perspectives, recognising the expertise of African engineering educators, and enriching our understanding of how African engineering institutions engage with this topic.