Large numbers of students tend to experience failure and dropout in their first year at university. The fundamental aim of this research was to explore protective factors that could foster resilience amongst first year students. It is hoped that resilience research can give young adults the skills and support to survive academic challenges with the help of the university. This study undertook to determine resilience traits that could contribute to academic success. Students who enrolled at the University of the Western Cape for the first time during the year 2003 participated in this study.

Thesis (MTech (Business Administration))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2018. / This study investigates students’ perception of factors that contributed to dropouts at a selected FET college. Despite receiving government funding, drop-out continues to increase. An understanding of perceived factors influencing drop-out rate would help to develop and deploy retention strategy for FET college students. Previous studies on drop-out shows that students that have dropped out are more likely to be unemployed and living in poverty compared to those students that have successfully completed their programmes. In 2006 the Minister of Labour declared that FET Colleges in South Africa have a major role to play in assisting youth in gaining skills and thereby halving poverty and the unemployment rate by the year 2014. This declaration highlights the importance of FET colleges and amplifies the need for a strategy to maximise students’ retention and minimise drop-out rate. This study utilise a random sampling method to select respondents. Data were collected using a questionnaire with a quantitative approach and designed in a Likert scale format. The study was limited to students at West Coast FET College’s campuses namely: Atlantis, Vredenburg, Malmesbury and Citrusdal. One hundred and fifty students were used as respondents and data were gathered from the questionnaires. The findings derived from the data revealed that multiple factors are perceived to be the cause of high student dropout. These factors are lack of finances for transport and accommodation especially for the first years and social context of individual learners. The study concludes that although finance and social context of individual learner are perceived drop-out factors, other personal attributes like learners’ attitude to learning and commitment also plays a role in students drop-out and drop-out intention.

Thesis (M. Ed.) --University of the North, 1998 / Refer to the document / HSRC (Human Science Research Council)

The overall purpose of this study was to analyse the perceptions and experiences of students from disadvantaged schools regarding their academic progress at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN). The study focused on the students’ material and social circumstances, their learning environment while at University, their connections to their home community, and their career aspirations. It set to answer three key research questions, namely: (1) what are the contours of disadvantage that can be discovered through investigating samples of students from disadvantaged schools at UKZN? (2) How do the ‘contours’ seem to co-occur with factors relating to academic progress? (3) What are the perceptions of students from disadvantaged schools at UKZN about their pre-university experience and the learning environment at university? The notion of disadvantage was defined using the Department of Education (DoE)’s classification of schools into the quintile system which is based on measurements of the poverty of the catchment community. Thus, this study shows that the notion of disadvantaged students in higher education can be investigated through class-based, rather than merely racially-based definitions. This study was conducted within a three-fold conceptual framework based on sustainable livelihoods approaches (SLA), social capital theory and social justice ideology. The SLA approach teaches us that livelihoods can only be understood and captured in particular contexts. This research project therefore aimed to gain a clearer understanding of such a context, in this case, the campus environment. Through the phenomenological approach of the openended questions in the interviews, this thesis taps into the perceptions of students themselves about their environment and how they cope. Social capital theory postulates five spheres: the academic, the social, the economic, the support, and the democratic. These were probed in both a survey of a sample of disadvantaged students, and by interviewing eight students. With regard to academic progress, the measurements used were the matric aggregate, the grade point average for salient years and programmes, and the time it took for students to graduate or dropout. Comparisons are made between the norm of students, the disadvantaged (those from low quintile schools), and those in the sample. The purpose of utilizing such measurements is to contribute to the social justice discourse about university education based on Taylor’s notion of Fair Equality of Opportunity (FEO), where disadvantaged students’ abilities and aspirations can best be developed and exercised, leading to the attainment of self-realization. Until disadvantaged students show academic progress that fits the norm, the contours of their disadvantage need to be continually investigated; it is hoped that the findings of this thesis will contribute to further research and concrete proposals which can be implemented to improve conditions so that students who are already disadvantaged as a result of their schooling are not further disadvantaged while at University . / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2013.

Large numbers of students tend to experience failure and dropout in their first year at university. The fundamental aim of this research was to explore protective factors that could foster resilience amongst first year students. It is hoped that resilience research can give young adults the skills and support to survive academic challenges with the help of the university. This study undertook to determine resilience traits that could contribute to academic success. Students who enrolled at the University of the Western Cape for the first time during the year 2003 participated in this study.

The aim of the study was to investigate the factors associated with high school learners’ poor performance in physical science in the Libode District in the Eastern Cape. The research also meant to answer the following research objectives on factors associated with high school learners’ poor performance in physical science. The first research objective was based on determining the school related factors that cause poor performance in physical science in the Libode District, while the second research objective was based on determining the home related factors that caused poor performance in physical science in the Libode district. The third research objective was based on ascertaining the skills and competencies of both physical science educators and physical science learners to improve performance while the fourth objective was based on suggesting strategies that could improve performance of both the physical science learners and educators. Research objectives three and four were addressed as recommendation. The study employed a qualitative as well as a quantitative approach. Six public high schools in the Libode District participated in this study. The identities of all the respondents were protected accordingly. Upon analysis of the results, several school related and home related factors respectively were identified as causing poor performance in physical science. No single factor was accountable for the poor performance in physical science. Recommendations for improvement in the areas identified were provided as well as areas for further research. / Science and Technology Education / M. Ed. (Natural Science Education)

Akademiese onderprestasie van universiteitstudente bly 'n aktuele vraagstuk en dit wil voorkom asof 'n oplossing in die verband navorsers steeds ontwyk. In die onderhawige studie is daar by wyse van 'n omvattende literatuurstudie, asook 'n empiriese ondersoek, aangetoon wat die aard en omvang van die onderprestasieproblematiek op tersiere vlak is. Hierdie proefskrif illustreer teenswoordige afstandsonderrigpraktyke, die aard en struktuur van VUDEC as afstandsonderriginstansie en 'n verskeidenheid faktore wat akademiese prestasie be'invloed. Die diversiteit en kulturele relatiwiteit van kennis, asook die wye interpretasiemoontlikhede van teks, veroorsaak 'n radikale probleem wat onderrig in Suid-Afrika, 'n land met 'n verskeidenheid kulture en gevolglike leerinhoudmoontlikhede, betref Die invloed van postmodemisme word toenemend in verskillende vakke waargeneem, maar onderrig in hierdie land is steeds hoofsaaklik in die sfeer van die modemistiese paradigma gelee. Die kritiese teorie van Habermas, wat modemisme be!nvloed het, bevraagteken realiteit, sowel as die geldigheidskriteria wat legitimiteit aan inhoud moet gee. Die hipotese wat gestel word, veronderstel dat die hoe onderprestasiesyfers in afstandsonderrig moontlik toegeskryf kan word aan die veronderstelling dat die meerderheid afstandsonderrigstudente 'n sosio-konstruktivistiese denkraamwerk het, terwyl afstandsonderrig steeds hoofsaaklik positivisties is. Die navorser stel die postmodemistiese paradigma as moontlike oplossing voor. Modemistiese onderrig moet nie totaal afgeskaf word nie, maar moet verbeter word deur noodsaaklike veranderings en aanpassings te maak ten opsigte van onderliggende persepsies van kurrikuluminhoud, onderrig- en evalueringsisteme en die implementering hiervan. Tradisioneel dosentgesentreerde en statisties gedefinieerde onderrig en evaluering moet met onderrigstrategiee vervang word wat gedeelde verantwoordelikheid vir prestasie nastreef en waar minder klem op die onderwerping van individue aan inhoudsgebonde onderrigpraktyke geplaas word. 'n Paradigmaverskuiwing na 'n postmodernistiese paradigma sal die weg vir afstandsonderriginstansies baan om betertoegeruste leerders die wereld en toekoms in te stuur, deur 'n basis vir die bereiking van voortreflikheid in en deur onderrig te bewerkstellig. / Academic underachievement at university level remains a topic of current interest and concern. Despite unceasing efforts to combat student wastage, a solution in this regard appears to evade researchers. In the present study an extensive literature study as well as an empirical investigation was undertaken to shed light on the nature and extent of the problem. This thesis illustrates present teaching practices, the structure and nature of VUDEC as a distance teaching institution, and a variety of factors that influence academic achievement. The diversity and cultural relativity of knowledge and the wide range of interpretative possibilities of texts, cause a radical problem with regard to teaching in South Africa, which embraces a wide range of cultures and learning contents. The influence of postmodernism has increasingly been observed in different subjects, but teaching in this country is still largely located in the sphere of the modernist paradigm. The critical theory ofHabermas which influenced modernism, questions reality as well as the criteria of validity which legitimize content. The hypothesis stated is based on the assumption that the high dropout rate in distance education may be attributed to the fact that many distance learners work within a socio-constuctivist paradigm of thinking, while teaching by distance educators is positivist in nature. The author holds up the postmodern paradigm as a possible corrective. The project of modernist teaching should not be totally suspended, but should be improved by introducing essential adjustments and changes in terms of underlying perceptions with regard to curriculum content, teaching and evaluation systems, and the implementation of these. Traditional teacher-centred and statistically defined teaching and assessment must be replaced by teaching strategies which accomodate the shared responsibility of achievement, placing less emphasis on the subjection of individuals to content-bound teaching practices. The shift towards a postmodern paradigm will pave the way for distance teaching institutions to send better-equipped learners into the world and into the future by creating a basis for the achievement of excellence in and through education. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / D. Ed. (Didaktiek)

Success rates remain a critical challenge in higher education. National and international data continue to suggest that the majority of students entering higher education withdraw before graduation. There is a strong indication in the literature that a student’s integration into the academic and social systems of higher education plays a critical role in student retention, persistence and success. In addition, research data demonstrates that student success is strongly influenced by the experiences students encounter in their first year of study. Established interventions have not helped to stem the tide of dropout rates. The primary aim of the study was therefore to investigate the academic and social integration of first-year students into the higher education system. The specific objectives were to explore the factors that contribute to academic and social integration, as well as the outcomes of academic and social integration in the first year of study. The study is grounded in Tinto’s theory of student integration, which holds at its centre, the constructs of academic and social integration. Tinto’s model proposes that academic and social integration are instrumental to students’ persistence in higher education. The methodology employed for the study is a systematic review, in an attempt to sum up the best available research in response to the research question. It involved identifying, selecting, appraising and synthesising all quality research relevant to the academic and social integration of first-year higher education students. Several themes emerged from the systematic review. The main factors found to be contributing to academic integration were: interaction with academic staff, classroom and curriculum centrality, preparatory education, self-efficacy, interaction with peers, academic engagement, motivation and issues related to first-generation higher education students. Those for social integration were: interaction with peers, sense of belonging and identity, interaction with staff, involvement and accommodation issues. The main outcomes for both academic and social integration were found to be student retention, persistence and academic success. The findings are consistent with past research on academic and social integration. Based on the emergent themes, recommendations were made with the aim of improving success rates in higher education. The results of the study could be of particular value in the South African higher education context by offering insights into the global and local trends with regard to academic and social integration. The findings could hopefully offer possible responses to current critical student success challenges experienced in South African higher education, especially in the light of the call by the #FeesMustFall movement for free and decolonised education.

Thesis(M. Com.(Economics)) -- University of Limpopo, 2019 / This study examined the determinants of learner performance by employing an education production function approach using the descriptive statistics, ordinary least squares (OLS) and quantile regression techniques in 2016. The study utilised the data obtained from SA-SAMS of Bankfontein combined school at Mpumalanga province. In the education production function, learner performance was estimated against variables such as age, gender, days absent and socio-economic status. The results of this study indicated that in the rural combined school, learner performance is strongly influenced by age, absenteeism and socio economic status. For instance, results revealed that absenteeism had a negative effect on learners‟ educational performance. An increase in absenteeism by 1 day led to a reduction in learner‟s examination score by approximately 0.1 percentage points during the chosen period. The “socioeconomic status” variable revealed a statistically significant and negative impact on learners‟ educational performance. The results demonstrate that poverty leads to poor educational performance as measured by examination scores. It is recommended that schools should manage learner diversity (age, gender and socio-economic factors), introduce learner motivation programmes, teacher performance improvement interventions, and improve organisational planning and development, parental involvement among others to retain learners at school. Furthermore, schools should enforce education policies that stipulate entry and exit age at different levels of schooling.

DEd (Sociology of Education) / Department of Curriculum Studies / The purpose of this study was to explore the educational participation and achievement of teen mothers in South Africa with specific reference to the Vhembe District of the Limpopo Province. This study also aimed to find out the prevalence of teenage pregnancy, attendance at school, and academic perfomance by teen mothers in the Vhembe District schools. The study sought to establish whether teenage motherhood has an effect on academic performance as perceived by educators. Sixty teenage mothers, eighteen teachers and six principals were purposively sampled for the study. Data was collected using in-depth interviews and focus group interviews to give the researcher a platform to ask open-response questions and to explore the educators’ perspective about academic performance, attendance at school and the educational achievements of teenage mothers. The data was analysed thematically. This was done by carefully identifying and expanding significant themes that emerged from the informants’ perceptions about the academic performance, attendance, and educational achievement of teenage mothers. The study revealed that the prevalence of teenage pregnancy and teen motherhood have a negative effect on school attendance and the academic perfomanceof the teenagers compared to their peers who are not pregnant.The study recommends that sex education should be taken seriously in secondary schools; educators should be trained and given skills to deal with both pregnant learners and teen mothers. Government should introduce a new method of disbursing the child support grant. There should be a provision of moblie clinics in schools so that both pregnant learners and teen mothers can be supported and not humiliated or stigmatized by peers and educators. / Department of Curriculum Studies and Education Management