3. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - All submissions
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Item Student stress, burnout and engagement.(2014-07-17) Friedman, GabrielaThe aim of the current study was to determine whether academic burnout/engagement mediated the relationship between academic obstacles/facilitators and academic performance within a South African university context. Participants received a web link to an online survey host in which a questionnaire was presented. The questionnaire included a selfdeveloped demographic questionnaire, an adapted version of the Student Stress Scale (Da Coste Leite & Israel, 2011), an adapted version of the Factors of Academic Facilitators Scale (Salanova, Schaufeli, Martinez, & Breso, 2010), the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Student Scale (Schaufeli, Salanova, Gonzalez-Roma, & Bakker, 2002) and the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale-Student (Schaufeli, Salanova, et al., 2002). The final sample (n=351) consisted of both full-time and part-time first year psychology students. The results of the current study demonstrated that academic obstacles were positively related to academic burnout while academic burnout was negatively related to academic performance. Academic facilitators were also negatively related to academic burnout and positively related to academic engagement. Academic burnout was also found to mediate the relationship between academic obstacles/facilitators and academic performance. The results of the study also demonstrated some non-hypothesised, but not unexpected, findings. Academic burnout, for one, was found to be negatively related to academic engagement. In addition, the indirect effect between academic obstacles and engagement was negative while the indirect effect between academic facilitators and engagement was positive. The results of the current study further demonstrated a novel finding whereby academic performance was positively related to burnout. Furthermore, the indirect effect between academic burnout and engagement was positive while the indirect effects between academic burnout and burnout, academic performance and engagement, and academic performance and performance, were negative. These findings were supported by previous research within both the work and student context. The results of the current study demonstrated, however, that academic engagement was not significantly related to academic performance and therefore was not a mediator in the relationship between academic obstacles/facilitators and academic performance. These results were unexpected given the literature available, however, may have been due to the way in which academic performance was operationalised within the current study. The implications of the results and the limitations of the current study were discussed, and suggestions for further research were made.Item The relationship between identity processing style and academic performance of first year psychology students.(2011-03-24) Ramdin, Renee ZenadiaAcademic performance of first year university students in the international arena as well as locally, has been a point of concern for all stakeholders because of high dropout rates and failure. Although many explanations for this have been offered and accepted, all have located the problem external to the individual. This study examined the interplay between interpersonal and intrapersonal factors on academic performance of first year university students in South Africa. A sociocognitive perspective was employed by an investigation of student identity processing styles as a means to explain academic performance. A mixed sample of 419 first year psychology students at a South African university was randomly chosen. Berzonsky’s Identity Style Inventory (ISI3) was used to categorise students’ identity processing styles which was then correlated to students’ mid-year examination results. Although similar research was conducted overseas, the findings of the present study did not match previous results. Unlike any other known study the correlation between normative processing style and academic performance of first year university students was statistically significant but was negative. There was significant difference only between informational and normative identity processing styles on academic performance and between informational and diffuse-avoidant processing styles on academic performance. It was found in this study that culture and race played a role in student identity processing styles and in turn influenced student academic performance in the first year of university. A discussion of results, educational implications of findings, limitations of the study and recommendations for future research are included at the end of this study.