In this study, we aim to discover how Chinese adults’ perceive the influence of their parents’ divorce on their academic performance. A total number of 22 Chinese adult participants took part in the individual semi-structured interviews, and answers were analyzed by using content analysis. The results of the study show a partial consistence with previous research that there might be short-term negative influence of parents’ divorce on their children’s’ academic performance. Yet these participants recounted that they were able to independently cope with the stressful situations related to their parents’ divorce and reduce, or even remove, the negative influence on their academic studies in the long term. Other participants who regarded themselves as highly social and communicative and/or who received social support did not perceive any negative influence. We show that external factors, such as how parents handle the divorce and support from other family members, teachers and peers, might work together with participants’ internal factors to result in reducing negative influences on academic performance and achievements.

Magister Curationis - MCur / Background: Institutions offering Bachelor of Nursing programmes worldwide are under increasing pressure to graduate larger numbers of students to meet the demands of the desired nurse workforce. High academic performance, which is measured by continuous assessment and examination results, is one of the major goals of higher education. However many students experience difficulty during their second year of study at the university used in this study. Aim: The overall aim of the study is to assess whether the identified predictor variables (cognitive, non-cognitive and demographic) influence academic performance of second-year nursing students at the University of the Western Cape. Methodology: A non-experimental quantitative research approach with a cross-sectional predictive design was applied. The selected sample (n=226) included all first-time enrolled Bachelor of Nursing students for the years 2012 – 2013 at the University of the Western Cape. An all-inclusive sampling method was applied. Data were obtained from the Student Administrative System Integrated and recorded in the data collection check list. Statistical Package for Social Sciences software version 23.0 was used sort and analyse the data. Simple and multiple linear regression were done. Ethics: Permission to conduct the present research study at the University of the Western Cape was obtained from the Registrar and the Director of The School of Nursing. The Research Ethics Committee of the University of the Western Cape granted ethics approval related to the research. The researcher maintained the principles of anonymity and confidentiality throughout the study. Results: The study found that the cognitive predictor variables had the strongest predictive power in association with student performance in comparison to the non-cognitive predictors and demographic variable, besides race which rejected the null hypothesis. Conclusion: The findings provided evidence to the School of Nursing to assist them in identifying students who may be at risk of unsatisfactory academic performance and who ultimately fail to proceed to the next level of study.

This research set out to explore the acculturation of immigrant children from Zimbabwe in the Foundation Phase with reference to its influence on academic performance. Participants were immigrant children from Zimbabwe aged six to seven years old and their parents and teachers. The study was navigated via the qualitative route using narrative and case study designs. Data were collected using semistructured interviews, observation and document analysis. This study was based on the theory of Legitimate Peripheral Participation (LPP) by Lave and Wenger (1991) and Wenger’s (1998) theory of learning in communities of practice (COP). Findings that emerged from the study were fivefold. First it was found that the initial investment in the LoLT initiated at the home front assisted the immigrant children from Zimbabwe to engage with the curriculum content on the periphery of the COP. It was found that quick understanding of the LoLT enhanced their acculturation to the school as well as their academic performance. Zimbabwean immigrant children who understood the indigenous South African languages adapted well to the academic environment. Consequently they had a sense of belonging to the school, a resource which seemed to have focused their attention on academic matters. Second, teachers had no prior arrangements to address the linguistic concerns of immigrant children in the Foundation Phase. However, they arranged ad hoc solutions to meet the linguistic and academic challenges of immigrant learners. Third, parents of Zimbabwean immigrant learners who participated in this study discouraged their children from totally imbibing the cultures of South Africa. They only agreed to their children’s academic acculturation rather than mainstream acculturation. They were determined to focus the attention of their children on coping with the curriculum. Some of them offered assistance to their children regarding the LoLT and their homework. Fourth, it was found that comprehension of curriculum content was enhanced by the acquisition of the LoLT. Fifth, it was found that issues of discrimination were uncommon among immigrant children and their indigenous peers in the Foundation Phase. Recommendations were made for policy and practice. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / gm2014 / Early Childhood Education / unrestricted

This study examined how children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus' (T1DM) glucose levels during and prior to academic performance impact the outcome on a variety of reading, writing, and mathematics tasks. The study sample was selected from a larger study. Participants wore a continuous glucose monitor for approximately six days and complete a neurobehavioral evaluation that consisted of a variety of tasks including tasks that assessed basic reading skills, reading fluency, reading comprehension, math fact fluency, math calculation, math problem solving, spelling, and writing fluency. Results indicated that individuals who experience extreme glucose levels (e.g. hyperglycemia or hypoglycemia) perform worse on spelling accuracy tasks. Additionally, when an individual is hyperglycemic his or her reading and writing fluency skills decrease. Moreover, poor glucose control prior to academic performance increased individual's risk for exhibiting impaired performance on reading and mathematics tasks. Overall, the study results suggest that one's glucose levels prior to and during academic performance potentially impact overall execution of reading, writing, and mathematics abilities. Therefore, these findings support the need to move beyond consideration of only overall glucose levels and review temporal influence of glucose levels on academic performance to track fluctuations on academic performance and determine necessary accommodations to buffer glycemic dysregulation effects. In particular, individuals whose glucose levels are frequently within the hyperglycemic range are at greatest risk for performing below their optimal level.

The influence of class attendance on academic performance and whether class attendance should be strictly enforced has already received much attention in existing literature. This study aimed to identify, within a South African context, typical reasons for the non-attendance of second-year accounting students as well as the effect of their absenteeism on their academic performance. A questionnaire was used to obtain feedback on the students’ perceptions of the main benefits of class attendance, their reasons for non-attendance and what, if anything, the lecturers could do to encourage students to attend lectures. Furthermore, statistical analysis of the data was done to determine whether a significant correlation exists between class attendance for a specific module for Accounting in the second year of study and academic performance in the assessments of that module. The analysis was done for the group as a whole. However, due to the differences in the composition of the two language groups, an analysis was also done for the two language groups concerned (Afrikaans and English). The results indicate a low positive correlation in all cases. It was concluded that there are a variety of reasons for class absenteeism. and although the correlation between attendance and performance is not significant, the students perceive lectures to add value to their educational experience. It was furthermore concluded that class attendance should not be enforced. Lecturing styles should rather be adapted, taking into consideration the changes that occur in the technological environment, to accommodate and facilitate a continuously improving learning experience. / Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Taxation / unrestricted

This paper explored the process of identity formation among the Hui national minority, particularly focusing on Hui students who live and study within the majority group. Given that Hui's tradition derived from its mixed blood is often misinterpreted by others in interactions with outgroup members, it is necessary to explore Hui students' opinions of their ethnicity in public school, the way that they construct their ethnic identity, and how identity varies among Hui students and thus affects their academic performance. Results showed that in the group of Hui students who reported their GPA, ethnic identity and self-esteem negatively predicted GPA. Self-esteem failed to act as a moderator in the prediction of GPA, but it did mediate the prediction of their aspiration for higher education. Differences between ethnic identity only existed between Hui students in central and northwest of China. Additional analysis and information from interviews showed that Hui students do have experiences in which they are misinterpreted by other groups, and Hui ethnicity does affect their life.

Concerns continue to be raised in South African higher education circles that students are not performing academically as they can and should, resulting in low through-put and poor retention rates (Hersh & Merrow, 2005; Pandor, 2007; DoE, 2008; EDUCATOR’S VOICE; MacGregor, 2009) . This mixed methods case study, using the General Model of Instructional Communication (McCroskey, Valencic, & Richmond, 2004), is an investigation of the lecturers’ and their students’ perceptions of lecturers’ instructional communication (IC), with specific focus on lecturer immediacy, clarity and credibility. These perceptions were further analysed to establish the extent to which they reflect lecturers’ instructional competence. Triangulation of data sets was conducted after seven lecturers had been interviewed and observed (eCOVE software and video) and questionnaires were administered to 252 first year students, enrolled for a communications course. Data were stored and analysed through the Dictate Express software, WEFT QDAS (text) and the Statistical Programme for the Social Sciences (SPSS) (numeric). The use of multiple data sources and analytic methods helped to improve the reliability and validity of the study. Analysis of the perceptions revealed that although the lecturers were perceived to be verbally and nonverbally immediate, they were also perceived to be unclear in their presentation, although credible in the eyes of their students. These negative behaviours have the potential to affect students’ learning adversely, and so potentially reduce students’ academic success. The lecturers were also found to be inconsistently competent, pedagogically and professionally. Recommendations at practical and policy levels, aimed at ameliorating lecturers’ communication and instructional skills during instruction, have been made while further research could review existing instruments, interventions and assess student performance. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2015. / tm2015 / Humanities Education / PhD / Unrestricted

Magister Artium (Social Work) - MA(SW) / Family resilience has a positive bearing on the academic performance of learners in the developmental phase of middle childhood. The role of family is often ignored and so there is a gap in the literature on the link between positive academic performance and family resilience. The aim of the study was to examine the relationship between perceived family resilience and the academic performance of children in the phase of middle childhood. A quantitative methodological approach was employed in this study with a cross-sectional correlational design. The type of sampling used in this study was convenience sampling. Three primary schools were selected and participants at the schools were randomly selected. The sample consisted of N = 194 Grade 6 learners from schools in the Penlyn Estate area. The reason for having chosen Grade 6 learners was that they are on the brink of puberty and have a good idea of how things function within the family and they were therefore better able to verbalise their opinions than were the younger learners in the phase of middle childhood. The data was collected using a self-reported questionnaire that included the demographic information and the Family Resilience Assessment Scale, as part of the quantitative methodology. The data was then analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences V23 (SPSS). The results were provided using descriptive and inferential statistics. Participation in this study was voluntary after being well informed, while confidentiality and anonymity were maintained throughout the study. The results show that there is a significant positive relationship between the dimensions of academic performance and family resilience.

A mini dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters in Education(Educational psychology) in the Department of Educational Psychology and Special Education, University of Zululand, 2007. / In KwaZulu-Natal and the wider South Africa, many learners are challenged in reading, writing and spelling. Aims This study aimed at evaluating bilingualism as a method of instruction, or means to improve the academic performance of second language learners, i.e. isiZulu speaking learners in KwaZulu-Natal classrooms. Methodology The research took the form of a field experiment and was limited to one school only, namely, the "Green School". The research paradigm took the form of a Pre-Test Post-Test: Before and After Randomised Control Group. This study is quantitative in nature and sampling is systematic by character. Sampling was executed by the method of random selection, where subjects from the Green School were randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups. Learners from Grades 4, 5, 6 and 7 were the participants in this research. The total number of participants in the study was N = 64, with 32 subjects being assigned to the control and the other 32 being assigned to the experimental group randomly. The subjects N - 64 were African learners whose home language was (i) isiZulu and (ii) Indian or Coloured learners whose home language was English. Both these groups were presented with vocabulary and comprehension pre-tests. The items listed on the vocabulary and comprehension subtests of the SSAIS-R were utilized to test the learners' knowledge and understanding of words. The SSAIS-R was utilized because it has been proved to be valid and reliable. Scoring was conducted as per requirements for scoring in the SSAIS-R on the vocabulary and comprehension subtests respectively. The experimental group was the subjected to one month of bilingual teaching, instructed by an isiZulu speaking teacher aide, who was proficient in and willing to teach bilingually in the experimental classroom. The control group was subjected to "English only" instruction. After one month the tester presented the learners with the same test material and posttest scores were obtained. VI n Data was then summarized and calculated using the factorial design and a table on the final analysis of variance was obtained. Results The results obtained, demonstrated that all F ratios were significant @ the 0.05 level for the Green School. It also verified that bilingualism as a method of instruction had improved the academic performance of second language learners viz. isiZulu learners in the Green School. Conclusion This has implications for reviewing and evaluating teaching and learning using bilingual instruction in South African classrooms. Recommendations It is recommended that bilingual instruction be introduced in the senior primary phase in schools. Since this study proved significant in the senior primary phase, it is recommended that a similar type of study be conducted in the junior primary phase in schools. A further suggestion is that in-service training be provided for all educators in bilingual modes of instruction, thus enhancing academic performance in second language learners. It should be compulsory for all student teachers to be trained in bilingual methods of instruction in teacher training tertiary institutions. This study can also be utilized to develop strategies for teaching in rural and peri -urban areas.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / This research study investigated the effectiveness of Peer Instruction (PI) in enhancing preservice teachers’ understanding of Electromagnetism I in a Nigerian college of education. PI as a research-based pedagogy was invented for the teaching of introductory science courses to large classes. Lectures in PI is made of short presentations on the main points, each followed by short conceptual questions known as ConcepTest, posed in a multiple-choice format, on the subject under discussion. Electromagnetism is a branch of Physics where students perform poorly at Colleges of Education in Nigeria. Electromagnetism I covers electrostatics, magnetostatics, current electricity, electrolysis, and capacitance. Each of these themes has different topics under it. Most students studying Electromagnetism I, cannot relate or connect what they learned in the classroom to real-world situations because they often learn by memorization (rote learning).