Abstract
Despite South Africa’s post-apartheid commitment to educational
transformation, rural students continue to face significant challenges
in accessing and participating in higher education.
Drawing on Nancy Fraser’s conceptualisation of participatory parity
and its three dimensions; economic redistribution, cultural recognition,
and political representation, this qualitative study examines
how rural students experience and negotiate their transition to and
participation at one South African university. Through in-depth
interviews with 18 rural students, this research uncovers how geographic
isolation creates informational barriers and systemic misrepresentation,
cultural differences lead to experiences of
misrecognition and social exclusion, and economic maldistribution
manifests in both material constraints and class-based assumptions.
The findings reveal how these dimensions intersect to create complex
challenges: limited access to information constrains educational
choices, cultural alienation affects classroom participation
and social integration, and financial precarity influences both academic
performance and social belonging. This study advances
theoretical understanding of social justice in higher education by
demonstrating how Fraser’s framework illuminates the interconnected
nature of rural students’ challenges, while providing evidence-
based recommendations for achieving genuine participatory
parity in South Africa’s higher education system.