Resumen Este artículo aborda la contradicción entre la formación orientada a las capacidades técnicas y la centrada en capacidades socialmente valoradas. Su propósito es valorar experiencias pedagógicas que contribuyen a la ampliación de capacidades profesionales valiosas para el estudiantado y la sociedad. A partir del enfoque de capacidades para el desarrollo humano (ECDH), se analiza la contribución a la ampliación de las capacidades del estudiantado que promueven las prácticas curriculares de aprendizaje-servicio (ApS), impulsadas por la Universidad del Estado Libre, Sudáfrica. El análisis se sustenta en la aplicación de diferentes técnicas de corte cualitativo: revisión documental, observación participante y entrevistas semiestructuradas. Los resultados visibilizan la expansión de capacidades socialmente valiosas en el estudiantado y orientan recomendaciones de cambios institucionales para la integración curricular y la valorización institucional del ApS, como una experiencia formativa transformadora.

Resumo Resumo: Este artigo aborda a contradição entre formação orientada às capacidades técnicas e as focadas em capacidades valorizadas socialmente. Seu objetivo é valorizar experiências pedagógicas que contribuam à expansão de capacidades profissionais que são valorizadas pelos estudantes e pela sociedade. Com base na abordagem do Enfoque de Capacidades para o Desenvolvimento Humano (ECDH), analisa-se a contribuição para a expansão das capacidades de estudantes que promovem às práticas curriculares de aprendizagem em Serviço (AS), promovidas pela Universidade do Estado Livre da África do Sul. A análise baseia-se na aplicação de diferentes técnicas de corte qualitativo: revisão documental, observação participante e entrevistas semiestruturadas. Os resultados tornam visível a expansão das capacidades socialmente valiosas no estudo e orientam recomendações para mudanças institucionais para a integração curricular e a valorização institucional do AS, como experiência formativa transformadora.

Abstract This article addresses the contradiction between training oriented to technical capabilities and training focusing on socially valued capabilities. Its purpose is to value pedagogical experiences that contribute to the expansion of valuable professional skills for students and society. Based on the capabilities approach for human development (CAHD), we analyzed the contribution to the expansion of student capacities that is promoted by curricular service-learning (ApS) practices, developed at the University of the Free State (UFS), South Africa. The analysis is based on the application of the following qualitative techniques: documentary review, participant observation, and semi-structured interviews. The results make visible the expansion of socially valued capacities in the students and serve as a guide for recommendations of institutional changes for curricular integration and institutional valorization of ApS, as a transforming formative experience.

In this article, we used the capability approach as normative grounding to analyse a particular faith-based intervention targeting 'youth at the margins' - in this instance, marginalised migrant youths from Zimbabwe living in Johannesburg, South Africa. We used Albert Street School (AS School), run by Johannesburg's Central Methodist Church, as our case study to show how this faith-based organisation, through its focus on education, created not only spaces for marginalised youths to aspire towards a better life but also practical opportunities to convert their aspirations into action. Drawing on first-hand accounts of 12 Zimbabwean migrant youths who had completed schooling at AS School, as well as of representatives of both the school and the CMC, the article first sketches the Zimbabwe-South Africa migration context post 2000. A discussion then follows of AS School as a faith-based intervention which addresses the constrained capability for education amongst marginalised migrant youths.

The closely related, but often contradictory, issues of increasing access to university and improving students' chances of success in their university studies have been and continue to be an important research focus within higher education studies and policy in South Africa and beyond. More recently, the challenge of underpreparedness of students entering university has gained prominence as universities struggle to increase their throughput rates. It can be argued that increasing access, without increasing chances of success, is becoming a new form of social exclusion within higher education. Thispaperproposes that approaching issues of access from a capabilities perspective (as developed by Amartya Sen) provides a means of fostering access for social justice and countering access that leads to social exclusion. As such, this is a theoretical paper building on existing work on the capabilities approach within education to argue that the notion of capabilities provides a useful theoretical and conceptual framework for understanding the complexities of meaningful access to university in a deeply divided society like South Africa.