ETD Collection

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Has files: YesSubject: search.filters.subject.Academic achievement--South Africa.

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    Relationships between a cognitive testing instrument, academic points scores and average academic results of National Diploma Students at a University of Technology.
    (2014-07-17) Opperman, Ingrid
    Higher education in South Africa faces a variety of challenges including poor pass rates, large numbers of students dependent on the National Student Financial Aid Scheme, intrapersonal and socioeconomic challenges of students and vast numbers of applicants vying for limited places in institutions. The primary method of selection and screening of applicants is the Academic Points Score (APS), calculated on Grade 12 achievement levels. However, large numbers of applicants exhibit similar or identical scores which meet minimum requirements. This makes effective selection difficult in terms of potential to succeed in the tertiary education context. Therefore, additional selection instruments may be useful in determining high from low potential candidates. Cognitive instruments are one option available to institutions and have been investigated to a certain extent, particularly in conjunction with alternative achievement based assessments. The present study examined a cognitive instrument utilised for selections at a University of Technology. The instrument is based on verbal and non-verbal reasoning skills, basic calculative ability, reading comprehension, memory and spatial reasoning. The results on the sub-tests of this instrument were examined in relation to APS and average mark achieved during study for National Diploma courses at the institution. Although statistically significant relationships did exist, as well as some demographic differences, effect sizes and correlation coefficients were small. Concerningly, APS did not explain a large percentage of variance in average mark. This finding is important in light of current selection procedures. Multiple regression and logistic regression models indicated that two specific sub-tests, in combination with APS, did contribute to predictive power in determining average mark. A number of themes in terms of this prediction are explored. These include English language ability, gender differences, specific cognitive skills and the general validity of utilisation of APS and/or cognitive testing as predictors of tertiary education success. In light of poor success rates in tertiary institutions across South Africa, further research into effective selection procedures should be prioritised.
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    An investigation of learners' performance in algebra from grades 9 to 11.
    (2014-07-16) Moodley, Vasantha
    This study is an investigation into the performance of learners in algebra using the levels of understanding as measured by the ICCAMS diagnostic instrument. The study was conducted in two phases. The first phase of the study consisted of an analysis of the scripts of a sample of 29 learners in Grade 9 who had written the test administered by the Wits Maths Connect-Secondary unit at Wits University. The scripts of the same 29 learners in Grade 10 were analysed to determine the progression within the levels of these learners from Grades 9 to 10. Eighteen learners progressed from a lower to a higher level. During the analysis of the tests it was found that the conjoining error was the main obstacle to some learners in progressing from moving from level 1 to level 3. During phase 2 of the study, a sample of 6 learners was selected from the original 29 learners. These learners completed a written task to investigate errors made in algebra in Grade 11. Interviews were conducted with these learners based on a written task. The analysis of the interviews and written task illustrated the problems learners experienced with level 2 questions, particularly with respect to the conjoining error.
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    Exploring the culture of learning and teaching between two universities
    (2014-02-26) Breytenbach, Belinda
    This paper reports the findings of a mixed methods research study which sought to explore the impact of teaching and learning cultures on the performance of fourth year Accountancy students. The collection of data was done through questionnaires as well as interviews with lecturers. Learning culture was explored by measuring and comparing the cultural dimensions of fourth year Accountancy students at two South African universities in order to understand the differences and similarities between the two institutions’ student bodies. There were statistically significant differences between the students of the two universities only along the cultural dimensions of long-term orientation and indulgence versus restraint. It was found that uncertainty avoidance, monumentalism and the age of students significantly impact their performance in Accountancy. Cultural dimensions of students which could hinder their performance in Accountancy are identified and some recommendations are made with regards to addressing areas of weakness in learning culture.
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    On the learning practices of first year chemical and metallurgical engineering students at Wits : a phenomenographic study.
    (2014-01-03) Woollacott, Laurie
    The study presented in this thesis was motivated by the poor academic performance of many entrants to the School of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. The premise behind the study is that the learning practices of students – the way they typically go about studying and learning – has a significant bearing on the quality of their learning and consequently on their academic prospects at university. Accordingly, the objective of the study was to develop an evidence-based understanding of the learning practices of our students. The kind of understanding sought was one which could inform interventions and/or curriculum re-design that aim to improve the quality of our students’ learning by facilitating an improvement in the quality of their learning practices and, thereby, to reduce attrition. To the extent that our students are representative of entrants to engineering education in the country, the findings of the study could have relevance beyond the context of our school. The methodology employed to achieve the study’s objective was phenomenography. Based on interviews with 31 students from the 2008 entering cohort, qualitatively different types of learning practice were found in 6 different contexts of studying and learning. The variation in the learning practices in four of these contexts was investigated in detail. The practice that was found to exert the most direct influence on the quality of a student’s learning was their ‘mastering-practice’ – i.e. how a student typically relates to and engages with studying and learning when they focus exclusively on the mastering of the requisite knowledge, understanding and skills. Six levels of sophistication in mastering-practice were identified. Three other types of learning practice were also investigated in depth: learning management practice; class-room practice (how students engage with verbal input of course material); and test-focused study practice (how they typically prepare for tests and exams). The study identified five categories of variation in learning management practice, five categories of variation in classroom practice, and four categories of variation in test-focused study practice. It also found that these practices could influence the quality of a student’s learning by the way in which they constrained their mastering-practice or diverted attention away from the exercise of their mastering-practice. The inter-relations between the different types of practice are discussed. The findings from the phenomenographic studies were augmented by investigations into the dynamics associated with how the students learning practices changed during their first year at university. In addition, the study developed a number of pedagogical tools or procedures for interpreting findings of the kind developed in the study and for using them to guide the design of pedagogical measures for improving students’ learning by helping those students to modify their learning practices. Apart from some theoretical developments that emerged and the specific findings about the nature of the learning practices of our students, the study’s contribution to knowledge consists of a methodology for identifying the qualitative essentials of the developmental pathways which students need to negotiate if they are to develop their learning practice to a more sophisticated level.
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    Academic writing ability and performance of first year university students in South Africa.
    (2013-03-27) Maher, Claire
    Poor academic performance and high failure rates in South African tertiary institutions have lead to a need for intervention of some sort. Academic performance is said to be strongly influenced by one’s academic writing ability. Therefore, this study aimed to determine how much influence academic writing ability has on academic performance. It also aimed to establish which measure - the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) or Wechsler Individual Achievement Test II (WIAT-II) - is a more accurate measure of academic writing. Lastly, the research aimed to determine whether any differences between English First Language (EFL) and English Additional Language (EAL) students’ exist. A convenience sample of 125 first-year Psychology students from the University of the Witwatersrand wrote argumentative essays that were analysed quantitatively using the IELTS and WIAT-II scoring system. Correlations and t-tests, as well as regression and reliability analyses were used to investigate the aims and establish the results. From the results it was evident that the IELTS and WIAT-II are both adequate measures of academic writing. However, the results showed that academic writing ability is not a major predictor of and contributor towards academic performance. Significant differences in performance were noted between groups of EFL and EAL students on all measures. The results also showed that failure rates were not as high in this sample as in previous statistics. Further investigation is required in order to determine other factors that contribute to one’s academic performance. Other aspects of academic literacy such as reading and speaking, as well as previous preparedness or intelligence, may need to be considered as determining factors of academic success.