معرفی
Suellen Shay serves as Associate Professor and Dean at the University of Cape Town's Centre for Higher Education Development (CHED), formerly known as the Academic Development Programme. She has been with the institution since 1989, progressing through various roles including teaching English for Academic Purposes (1989-1993), coordinating UCT's Writing Centre (1993-1997), and more recently focusing on staff and institutional development through HAESDU. As Dean in CHED, she convenes the Higher Education Studies program and maintains an active research and publication profile.
Shay's research centers on using sociological perspectives to critique assessment in higher education, with particular focus on mathematics education, educational inequality, and the transition from school to university. Her work examines how South Africa's education system prepares students for tertiary education, especially regarding gateway subjects like mathematics. She critically analyzes university rankings systems, advocating for metrics that address teaching quality and educational inequality. Her scholarship consistently engages with contemporary challenges in South African higher education, including student protests, decolonization of curriculum, and the relationship between schooling outcomes and university preparedness.
Shay's publication record demonstrates consistent engagement with critical issues in South African education, particularly the mathematics performance crisis and its implications for university access. Her articles reveal a systematic analysis of the gap between school completion and university preparedness, with special attention to how universities might better serve diverse student populations. She challenges conventional wisdom about university rankings and advocates for systemic changes in teaching approaches that would benefit all students rather than just targeting interventions at those deemed 'at risk.'
As Dean in CHED, Shay has secured research funding from the National Research Foundation (2014) and maintains an active role in shaping educational policy and practice at UCT and nationally. Her work bridges academic research with practical institutional development, focusing on how universities can better serve students from diverse educational backgrounds while maintaining academic standards.
