Surfacing PossibilitiesWhat It Might Mean to Work with First-generation Higher-education StudentsEdited by JUNE PYM AND MORAGH PAXTON

Surfacing P

ossib

ilities: What It M

ight M

ean to Wo

rk with First-g

eneration H

igher-ed

ucation S

tudents

Surfacing Possibilities offers a case study of an effective education development initiative at a South African university. It focuses on the challenges faced by first generation undergraduate students who come from a diversity of linguistic, social, and cultural backgrounds and have often experienced disadvantage. This new generation of students calls for different directions in teaching, learnings, and support, and we have focused on harnessing student agency rather than working with a deficit model. The varied contributions in this book recognise the need to work at multiple levels throughout the degree and describe the diverse and innovative ways in which these challenges have been addressed.

Surfacing Possibilities will be of interest to education developers in higher education in a variety of global contexts.

June Pym is an associate professor at the University of Cape Town. She is the director of the Education Development Unit (Commerce). Her research interests are particularly focused on what makes a difference to vulnerable higher education students’ learning experiences and environment.

Moragh Paxton is an associate professor at the University of Cape Town. Her teaching and research interests are in language and literacy development.

JUN

E P

YM

AN

D M

OR

AG

H P

AX

TON

ONTHEUNIVERSITY.COM