BIO

Faith Mkwananzi is a Researcher with the SARCHI Chair’s Higher Education and Human Development Research Programme under the Centre for Development Support at the University of the Free State, South Africa. She holds a Master’s and a PhD in Development Studies, as well as an Honours Degree in Public Administration, all from the University of the Free State. She has experience in postgraduate teaching and mentorship, thesis examination, grant writing, and capacity strengthening with early-career researchers. In addition, she has extensive experience engaging with a diverse range of education stakeholders.

Faith’s research sits at the intersection of higher education and global development. It is interdisciplinary in nature, drawing insights from migration, gender, youth, policy, and development studies, with a particular focus on Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Grounded in collaborative stakeholder partnerships and cross-cultural learning, she has contributed to multiple projects and enjoys working with students and researchers in the following areas:

• University access and learning experiences
• Educational technology
• International staff and student migration
• Internationalisation in higher education
• Migrant and refugee education
• Peace education in Africa
• Inclusion and exclusion in education

Faith is currently pursuing research that develops operationalisations of the capability approach and employs creative, participatory methodologies. She tailors research methods to contextual needs and is particularly interested in subjectivity and reflexivity in research processes. The overarching aim of Faith’s work is to bridge the gap between academic research, development practice, and civil society. The interdisciplinary nature of this work contributes to the following Sustainable Development Goals: Quality Education (4), Good Health and Well-being (3), Gender Equality (5), Reduced Inequalities (10), and Partnerships for the Goals (17).

Books

Mkwananzi, F. & Agbaire, J. (Forthcoming 2026). Complexities, Contexts, and Capabilities in Educational Inclusion. London:  Palgrave McMillan.

Mutanga, O. & Mkwananzi, F. (eds) (forthcoming 2025). Navigating Complex Research Terrains – The Experiences of Social Researchers in the Global South. London: Routledge.

The May Group: Brody, A., Cooke, P., Harvey, L., Hodgkinson, K., Mkwananzi, F. & Soria-Donlan, I. (2025). Youth Voice and Participatory Arts in Development. London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003427391

Mkwananzi, F. & Cin, M. (Eds). (2021). Post-conflict Participatory Arts: Socially engaged development. London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003121046

Mkwananzi, F. (2019). Higher Education, Youth, and Migration in Contexts of Disadvantage: Understanding Aspirations and Capabilities. London:  Palgrave McMillan.

Journal Articles

Masungo, K., Cin. F.M., Mkwananzi, F., Marovah, T. & Gunter, A. (2025). Herstories Unveiled: Exploring the Intersection of Narrative Capabilities and Cultural Heritage. Journal of Human Development and Capabilities.

Nyamunda, P., Mkwananzi, F., & Seshoka, W. (2024). The Policy and Practice of Internationalization in the Global-South: African International Students` Experiences in South Africa during COVID-19. Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education, 16(5). DOI:10.32674/afwhbb79

Mkwananzi, F. & Martinez-Vargas, C. (2024). Exploring an alternative access route to higher education in South Africa: A human development and social justice analysis. Critical Studies in Teaching and Learning, 12(1): 22-39. https://doi.org/10.14426/cristal.v12i1.2120

Mkwananzi, F., Cin, F & Marovah, T. (2023): Transformative youth development through heritage projects: connecting political, creative, and cultural capabilities, International Journal of Heritage Studies, DOI: 10.1080/13527258.2023.2209058

Ozmantar, Z.K., Cin., & Mkwananzi, F. (2023). Becoming a Teacher: The Liminal Identities and Political Agency of Refugee Teachers. Journal of Human Development and Capabilities https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19452829.2023.2227108

Mkwananzi, F., Cin, M. and Marovah, T. (2021). Participatory arts for navigating political capabilities and aspirations among rural youth in Zimbabwe. Third World Quarterly. https://doi.org/10.1080/01436597.2021.1977620

Buckler, A., Chamberlain. L., Mkwananzi, F., Dean, C., and Chigodora, O. (2021). Out-of-school girls` lives in Zimbabwe: what can we learn from a storytelling research approach. Cambridge Journal of Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/0305764X.2021.19707

Mkwananzi, F. & Cin, F.M.  (2020). From Streets to Developing Aspirations: How Does Collective Agency for Education Change Marginalised Migrant Youths` Lives? Journal of Human Development and Capabilities. https://doi.org/10.1080/19452829.2020.1801609

Walker, M., Martinez, C. and Mkwananzi, F. (2019). Participatory action research: towards (non-ideal) epistemic justice in a university in South Africa. Journal of Global Ethics. https://doi.org/10.1080/17449626.2019.1661269

Mkwananzi, F. & Mukwambo P. (2019). Widening Participation in Higher Education for Marginalised Migrant Youth Through Flexible Teaching and Learning Mechanisms. Journal of Widening Participation and Lifelong Learning, 21 (2). https://doi.org/10.5456/WPLL.21.2.100

Mkwananzi, F. & Wilson-Strydom, M. (2018). Multidimensional disadvantages and educational aspirations of marginalised migrant youth: Insights from the Global South. Journal of Global Ethics, 14 (1), 71-94. https://doi.org/10.1080/17449626.2018.1496349

Walker, M. & Mkwananzi, F. (2015). Challenges in accessing higher education: A case study of marginalised young people in one South African informal settlement. International Journal of Educational Development, (40), 40-49.

Book Chapters

Mkwananzi, F., Mukwambo, P., Seshoka, W. & Notenga, N. (2025). Emotional scarcity and well-being among international students at times of crisis in South Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic. In, A, Jimenez., Pipyrou, S. & C., Ferreira-Marinelli (Eds). `Minorities, Scarcity and Conflict.` Routledge.

Mkwananzi, F. (2022). Imagining possible selves: Perceptions of higher education among young asylum-seeking women in South Africa. In, A, North & E, Chase (Eds). `Education, Migration and International Development: Critical perspectives in a moving world.` London: Bloomsbury. Chapter 12.

Chikozho, J., Muntanga, W., Marovah, T & Mkwananzi, F.  (2021). Collaboration in research: Insights from a participatory art project in Zimbabwe. In, F, Mkwananzi. & M, Cin. (Eds)  Post-conflict Participatory Arts: Socially engaged development. London: Routledge. Pp.137-152.

Chamberlain, L., Buckler, A. & Mkwananzi, F. (2021) Building a case for inclusive ways of knowing through a case study of a cross-cultural research project of out-of-school girls` aspirations in Zimbabwe: practitioners` perspectives`, in A. Fox, H. Busher and C. Capewell (Eds)Thinking critically and ethically about research for education: Engaging with Voice and Empowerment in international contexts, London: Routledge, Chapter 3.

Ncube, A.  & Mkwananzi, F. (2021). Conceptualizing a Win-Win in the Refugee and Higher Education Enigma: Insights from Southern Africa. In, I, Barreto (2021) (Ed).  Handbook of Research on Promoting Social Justice for Immigrants and Refugees Through Active Citizenship and Intercultural Education. Pp, 328-348.

Mkwananzi, F. (2021). Transitioning capitals in international student mobility. In, J, Kurzwelly. & L.E., D’Angles (Eds). Migrants, Thinkers, Storytellers: Negotiating Meaning and Making Life in Bloemfontein, South Africa. Capetown: HSRC Press.pp, 173-195.

Ncube, A. & Mkwananzi, F. (2020). Gendered labour migration in South Africa: A capability approach lens. In, F.T. Seiger., C, Timmerman., N.B. Salazar & J, Wets. (Eds). Migration at Work: Aspirations, Imaginaries & Structures of Mobility. Leuven: Leuven University Press, 65-90. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv16km21f

Full list of publications also available here: ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8381-4007 or here [Google Scholar]

Primary Investigator
Funder: National Research Foundation – Thuthuka Project (2022-2025)                                                                                      
Topic: Mapping higher education beyond Agenda 2030: International students and digital learning in South Africa.

 
Co-Investigator
Funder: Arts and Humanities Research Council (2022-2024)
Primary Investigator: Alison Buckler, Ph.D. (Open University, United Kingdom)
Topic: Ibali: Storying new discourses of educational inclusion/exclusion in the UK, Nigeria, and South Africa.
 
 
Primary Investigator
Funder: Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, University of the Free State (2022 – 2023)
Topic: African International students in South African Higher Education: A multi-university study on e-learning experiences.

Primary Investigator

Funder: Arts and Humanities Research Council – Changing the Story Network Plus (2022)

Topic: Transnational and intergenerational exploration of ecological heritage with youth in Southern Africa – gathering data for the commercialization of moringa.

Primary Investigator

Funder: Society for Research into Higher Education (SRHE) (2022)

Topic: Pursuing higher education in contexts of socio-spatial exclusion: a scoping study of the educational trajectories of youth from informal settlements.

Co-Investigator

Funder: Economic and Social Research Council Network Funding of the Transforming Education for Sustainable Futures (TESF) Scheme (2022)

Topic: Universities as Sustainable Communities.

Primary Investigator

Funder: Arts and Humanities Research Council – Changing the Story Network Plus (2020 - 2021)

Topic: Youth agency, civic engagement, and sustainable development: Ideas for Southern Africa.

Co-Investigator

Funder: Arts and Humanities Research Council – Changing the Story Network Plus (2019)

Topic: Street art to promote representation and epistemic justice among marginalized rural Zimbabwean youth.

Researcher

2020/2021

Funder: Arts and Humanities Research Council - UK

Primary Investigator: Tendayi Marovah, Ph.D. (Midlands State University, Zimbabwe)

Topic: Decolonising Education for Peace in Africa (DEPA): A case study in rural Zimbabwe.

Researcher

2019

Funder: Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences  (FASS), Lancaster University, UK

Primary Investigator: Murait Oztok, Ph.D. (Lancaster University)

Topic: Use of Mobile Technologies as an informal learning tool among Refugee Youth in South Africa.

Current Projects

Researcher

2019-present

Lead Researcher: Alison Buckler, Ph.D. (Open University, UK)

Topic: Supporting Adolescent Girls` Education- Mapping the Aspirations and educational needs of `out-of-school` girls in Zimbabwe [research strand].