Emma Whitelaw’s research analyses post-school education in an unequal society

Emma Whitelaw believes post-school education is a powerful tool for catalysing social mobility in South Africa, and it’s for this reason that she dedicated her PhD research to the topic – to demonstrate its importance, identify gaps that need to be addressed, and showcase the long-term benefits for the next generation.

After spending three years knee-deep (sometimes eyeballs-deep!) in her research, Emma will graduate with her PhD in economics from the University of Cape Town (UCT) on 21 July. And she’ll use the occasion to celebrate and reflect on a long but rewarding journey.

Analysing access to post-school education

Emma’s research forms part of the Siyaphambili Project – an initiative of UCT’s Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit (SALDRU). The project was developed as a post-school research programme that focuses on post-school education and training in South Africa. It supports South African universities’ ability to improve student learning and academic success.

Her thesis explored inequalities in access to post-school education among the youth in South Africa; its impact on their achievements once they reach university; and graduate realities – considering each as an obstacle to students’ equitable participation and success at university or college, and thereafter.

“I unpacked these dimensions of post-schooling with the hope that when findings are inserted into relevant policy dialogues, they will inform evidence-based decision-making.”

“Using economic analyses, I unpacked these dimensions of post-schooling with the hope that when findings are inserted into relevant policy dialogues, they will inform evidence-based decision-making that ultimately has the potential to disrupt cycles of socio-economic inequality,” she said.

An overarching theme that emerged during her research process is the interconnectedness between post-schooling-related inequalities within the system itself and in society more broadly. Further, she said, funding-related themes are extensive. These include how student funding is financed, and the implications for graduates; how household inequalities (as proxied by funding receipt) interact with student success; and who accesses funding – and consequently, post-school educational opportunities.

Data-driven approaches

Part of Emma’s research proposed using an empirical and conceptual methodology based on households’ income mobility over time. This approach suggests analysing the household circumstances of youth who are eligible for the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), as well as youth who form part of the ‘missing middle’ groups and who are not eligible for state funding.

“I differentiate the socio-economic circumstances of households, using nationally representative survey data, within the context of the current post-school funding policy. My results revealed that simply aggregating household circumstances within the missing middle would overstate the well-being of vulnerable youth in the long term and understate the economic security of youth classified as more stable,” she said.

This proposed approach highlights the fact that income vulnerability fluctuations should be considered an important constraint for access to post-school education, even in cases where household income is above the NSFAS threshold.

The value of post-school education

Emma said the value of post-school education, and the benefits that come with it – for the South African labour market, and for society more broadly – should not be underestimated. She believes that it continues to play a key role in promoting a more equitable society.

“Addressing socio-economic inequality in South Africa is complicated by the fact that it pervades the systems and institutions (such as post-schooling) that aspire to dismantle it. I wanted to leverage data in a way that could deepen an understanding of the extent of these inequalities,” she noted.

“The fact that I’ve been afforded opportunities by the luck of my birth, while others remain unable to escape intergenerational cycles of poverty, is a huge social injustice.”

“I am immensely grateful for the investment my parents made in my education. But the reality is that I was born into circumstances that would gear me towards economic opportunity and future stability. The fact that I’ve been afforded opportunities by the luck of my birth, while others remain unable to escape intergenerational cycles of poverty, is a huge social injustice.”

She said she hopes her work will draw attention to where there is scope to address inequality, both within the post-school education sector and through post-school education attainment.

A strong support structure

As Emma looks back on her decade-long journey with UCT, which started as an undergraduate student in 2013, she said she has so much to be thankful for. She has changed academic programmes several times – from business science to social science, and later from African languages back to economics. In the end, SALDRU became her home away from home. Some of the highlights over the past few years include receiving funding from the Mandela Rhodes Foundation, the FirstRand Foundation and the National Research Foundation Chair in Poverty and Inequality Research to fast-track her work. This support allowed her to forge her own career path and kept her motivated and inspired.

But things were not always smooth sailing. Emma said she has often struggled not to let her academic success – or others’ opinion thereof – define her. And for the first time, during her PhD, she experienced the physical side-effects of generalised anxiety.

“Being able to discuss these issues openly and honestly with close friends meant I received the encouragement I needed to start medication. This meant that I could regain my sense of purpose in and love for my work,” she said. “Since then, I often remind myself of a line from the novel The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse – a story of hope, during uncertain times – which says that ‘Asking for help isn’t giving up; it’s refusing to give up’.”

“I am so grateful for all this support; it has played an enormous role in shaping my journey.”

She acknowledges that a multitude of people have contributed to her success: her supervisors, Dr Nicola Branson and Professor Murray Leibbrandt, who were generous with their time; her colleagues at SALDRU for their encouragement; her family and friends for their unconditional love and compassion; as well as all her colleagues at UCT and other post-school institutions and organisations, who place student success, dignity and social justice at the heart of their work.

“I’m so grateful for all this support; it has played an enormous role in shaping my journey,” she said.

Emma Whitelaw is currently a post-doctoral research fellow at SALDRU and continues her work on the Siyaphambili Project. She has also recently joined the team at UCT’s African Centre of Excellence for Inequality Research, and works on topics related to wealth, privilege and structural inequalities in South Africa and Ghana.