Research on HE in South Africa: stocktaking and assessment from international comparative perspectives

Abstract

Abstract The aim of this article is to compare higher education (HE) research in South Africa with developments in the field of HE research internationally. This will be done by means of a content analysis of HE scholarly articles published locally compared with those published internationally during the decade from 2001 to 2010. While local HE scholarship now seems to be more aligned with international HE scholarship than was the case some two decades ago, there are indications that HE scholarship in South Africa allows itself be dictated to by the current societal status quo, and that critical scholarship is not as thriving as was the case two decades ago. In the light of this dangerous development, the article concludes with three suggestions for further research regarding the integration of local HE scholarship with international HE research.