Prof. Sharlene Swartz
Professor Sharlene Swartz is Divisional Executive of the Inclusive Economic Development research programme. She has been with the HSRC since 2008 and has held positions as the Executive Director in the Education and Skills Development programme and as a Research Director in Human and Social development. A sociologist by training, she has been an adjunct Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Cape Town (2012-2019) and is currently an adjunct Professor in Philosophy at the University of Fort Hare, South Africa (2019-to date).
Her research focuses on what she has termed `navigational capacities? for the just inclusion of youth in societies in the Global South. She researches and writes extensively on transformative education, reimagined inclusive economic development, and decolonising and emancipatory practices in research. Prof Swartz holds a PhD from the University of Cambridge, UK, a Master?s degree in Education from Harvard University, USA, and undergraduate degrees from the University of the Witwatersrand (Life Sciences) and the University of Zululand (Philosophy), both in South Africa. Her doctoral thesis, in the sociology of education, considered how young people who live in poverty, understand, represent and enact morality.
Prof Swartz is the Principal Investigator of a longitudinal research study The Imprint of Education, funded by the Mastercard Foundation, that investigates the ways in which higher education impacts on the lives of first generation students, and how they in turn affect their worlds. Previous studies included young fathers, race and education, the role of education on alleviating poverty, and peer education. Before embarking on her graduate studies, Sharlene spent 12 years at a youth NGO where she pioneered peer-led social justice and life skills education programmes. Prof Swartz has authored six books, edited a further five, has completed nearly seventy journal articles and book chapters, produced fourteen research reports, an ethnographic documentary and presented more than one hundred and twenty local and international invited lectures and conference papers, including a number of keynote addresses.
Authored books include Studying while black: Race, education and emancipation in South African universities (2018, HSRC Press with Mahali, Moletsane et al); Moral eyes: Youth and justice in Cameroon, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and South Africa (2018, HSRC Press with Nyamnjoh et al); Another country: Everyday social restitution (2016, Best Red); Old enough to know: Consulting children about sex and AIDS education in Africa (2012, HSRC Press with McLaughlin et al); Ikasi: The moral ecology of South Africa?s township youth (2009, Palgrave Macmillan; 2010, Wits University Press); and Teenage tata: Voices of young fathers in South Africa (2009, HSRC Press with Bhana). Edited books include The Oxford Handbook of Global South Youth Studies (2020, Oxford University Press with Cooper, Batan and Kropff Causa); A history of the human sciences research council of South Africa (2020, HSRC Press with Soudien and Houston); Youth and the intergenerational transmission of poverty (2015, UCT Children?s Institute edited with DeLannoy et al); Youth citizenship and the politics of belonging (2013, Routledge with Arnot); and Moral education in sub-Saharan Africa: culture, economics, conflict and AIDS (2011, Routledge with Taylor).
Prof Swartz is currently President (2018-2022) and an executive member of the International Sociological Association Sociology of Youth Research Committee, a past executive member of the Association for Moral Education, and is on the editorial boards of the Journal of Moral Education, Journal of Youth Studies, Youth and Globalisation and Autonomie Locali e Servizi Sociali. She has been involved in multiple civil society organisations focussing on youth and justice, and has held positions on committees of the National Research Foundation, and has been a visiting fellow at the Faculty of Education and Centre for Development Studies at the University of Cambridge, and at the Centre for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University. She is a nationally rated researcher in South Africa.
Developmental editing of 2 books
Two recent monographs dealing with economic development and education have been identified by HSRC Publishing as having high potential for being publi....
Lancet Commission on Adolescent Health and Wellbeing
This proposal aims to request funds to host the Lancet Commission on Adolescent Health and Wellbeing in Cape Town. For the 4 years of the Commission k....
Translations of the Oxford Handbook
As part of the existing LeaPPTs target on Communities of Practice (Global South Youth Studies Community of Practice), Spanish and French translations ....
Barrier Study Work Plan (SABSSM VI nested qualitative study) MoU with HSC
Barrier Study Work Plan. SABSSM VI nested qualitative study titled: Assessing the barriers and facilitators of initial linkage to care and retention....
The 2021 Social unrest in South Africa: Future scenarios
In response to the social unrest and following a presentation by the HSRC to the National Intelligence Co-ordinating Committee (NICOC) the Department ....
NRF grant no: 129183P (S Swartz)
INCENTIVE FUNDING FOR RATED RESEARCHERS....
Rapid IED response to Covid 19 Crisis
Understanding the impact of the unfolding Covid crisis.....
The Imprint of Education (TIE): A Longitudinal Cohort Study of African Alumni of the MasterCard Foundation Scholars' Programme - Ghana
The proposed research design is a longitudinal cohort study which aims to survey Scholars??? Program Alumni from six African countries (Ethiopia, Ghan....
Enhancing university community engagement at Sol Plaatje University
Enhancing university community engagement at Sol Plaatje University: Matching institutional outlook with regional absorptive capacity The importance ....
A multidimensional understanding of wellbeing to address poverty and inequality in South Africa: A historical, methodological and practical approach
We propose a medium to long term programme of research that develops a critical and multidimensional understanding of wellbeing to address poverty and....
Moral-eyes Coming to see personal privilege and positionalities in diverse issues of social justice
The intention of the study is offer a model for how moral education might be done using a research as intervention approach. Ultimately it aims to per....
Early Childhood Household Stimulation Project
The TOR goes on to operationalise this goal in three objectives, namely: Increase the number of children between the ages 0-5 that receive physical, c....
Impact evaluation of the Kwanele communities
The aim of the programme evaluation is to assess the extent to which and how the interventions have: improved access, retention and attainment of girl....
Lives and Times: Children in South African families
This book will focus on the everyday socialization of children in Africa, particularly black children within families in South Africa.There is current....
Adhoc - Chris Desmond
Adhoc projects for Chris Desmond....
Family matters: Socio-Cultural perspectives on same-gendered families in SA
This project is aimed at stimulating research on the topic of same-gendered families in South Africa and generating networks and collaboration around ....
Navigational capacities in contexts of adversity Establishing a consortium of global South youth scholars
This project seeks to contribute to the debate around the homogeneity/heterogeneity of youth studies and does so, through this accelerator activity pr....
Assessment of the potential socio-cultural, gender and economic impacts of the use of veterinary vaccines by South African rural Farmer Households
Contribute to the development of key project implementation strategies including: i) impact pathway, ii) project M and E / results framework, iii) com....
Building the capacity of emerging leaders in South Africa to address stigma and discrimination against LGBTI and Sex Workers
Using an inter-disciplinary approach through our established network of partner organizations and experts, the programme will provide a unique combina....
To assess awareness, understanding and implementation of the population policy for SA
the major objective of the research is to produce a report that describes the awareness and understanding of national governments about the Population....
Making Sexual and Reproductive Rights Real In SA Programme
The research will support the following outcomes of the Making Sexual and Reproductive Rights Real in SA programme. Outcome 1 Duty bearers ensure pro....
South African Gay and Bisexual Men's parenthood choices
The aim of this project is to conduct focused research on: Desires, needs and motivations regarding becoming a parent; related decision-making; and b....
Youth music and the construction of social subjectivities and communities in post-apartheid South Africa
The purpose of the project is twofold: To investigate emotional, social and political attachments to particular genre???s and forms of music and music....
To support the national rapid assessment of Adolescent and Youth Friendly Services in all 9 provinces of South Africa
This proposal has been drawn up in response to a call for proposals by the United Nations Children???s Fund (UNICEF) for a service provider to design,....
Education and Emancipation: A five-year longitudinal, qualitative study of agency and impasses to success amongst higher education students in a sample of South African universities
The main aim of this study is to investigate, through a five-year longitudinal and qualitative study, the obstacles and opportunities students experie....
NRF - GRANT Incentive funding for rated researchers Prof Swartz
NRF - GRANT Incentive funding for rated researchers....
Non-conforming gender identities.
The purpose of this study set out to compare the experiences of self-identifying gender non-conforming youth (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, int....