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Universities in South Africa seem to be struggling to create inclusive conditions for black students to succeed in their studies. The persistence of inequality in universities could be partly blamed on the use of the term ‘historically disadvantaged’, which is not defined in policy documents, and this has resulted in universities being unclear on what exactly to address in their transformation. Using the capability approach in this study, it is argued that policy should address the structural, institutional and environmental factors that contribute to student disadvantage, which prevent the development of opportunities and agency among students. Seven semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect qualitative data from key stakeholders who dealt with student affairs (university staff and student representative council [SRC] members) at one South African university with the aim of developing an understanding of student disadvantage from their perspective. The findings revealed that student disadvantage manifests through structural and institutional factors, namely a culture of racism, alienating university campuses, student poverty, university teaching, and gender inequality. The study recommends that universities consider addressing these factors in their transformation.

Higher education policy in South Africa uses the concept of ‘historically disadvantaged’ to address inequities and inequalities. Disadvantage specifically refers to black students who are marginalised in higher education due to structural factors associated with the apartheid legacy of segregation. In this paper, drawing from the capability approach, the authors argue that (dis)advantage can be better understood in terms of students’ capabilities, functionings, and agency, which go beyond race to address other forms of oppression like class, gender and related individual factors. Students with a wider capability set and agency to convert resources into capabilities and functionings are deemed advantaged in comparison with those who have a narrower capability set and lack agency. Based on theory and empirical findings, this paper offers a complex, multidimensional and nuanced conceptualisation of (dis)advantage to understand practical interventions in higher education. The findings show that foregrounding race in addressing disadvantage is limiting and policy should therefore provide opportunities to all students for them to succeed.

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