Thesis (M.Ed.(Educational Psychology)--University of the Witwatersrand, 1990.

M.Ed. et Phil. / Poor academic performance and high drop out rates are of particular concern in South African higher education in general, and also at the institution where this investigation was conducted. The challenges facing South African higher education include a highly diverse student population, with many under-prepared students, who find coping with the academic and social demands of higher education a difficult task to accomplish. From an institutional perspective, it is important to be able to identify students who are at greater risk of not achieving academic success, since these students will often not seek help themselves. An institutional reaction to the situation described above should include a comprehensive predictive model, aimed at accurately identifying at-risk students as early as possible. This will enable the institution to provide them with early targeted assistance. One part of such a model should focus on the initial transitions students make upon their arrival at higher education institutions. The pre-entry attributes with which a student arrives at the institution have been found to be good predictors of student success and retention during the initial phases of their transition into higher education. The purpose of this study was therefore to investigate the predictive value of a variety of pre-entry attributes in terms of predicting the academic success and retention behaviour of students entering the university for the first time. The pre-entry attributes that proved to be good predictors were used to create student profiles that would allow the institution and the different faculties to identify potential at-risk students at an early stage.

Submitted in compliance with the requirements for the Masters of Engineering degree, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2016. / The department of Mechanical Engineering at the Durban University of Technology currently offers a National Diploma (ND) and a Bachelor’s Degree in Technology (BTech), as well as a MEng. and a DEng. This thesis details four areas of study that were undertaken in an attempt to identify potential impediments to student success in the department, using readily available data. The universities’ management information system (ITS) was the primary source of data, but limited data was also obtained from courses that the author taught, as outlined in section (4) below. A grounded action research framework was selected as the methodological framework for these studies as it allowed the freedom to refine an investigation as it progressed as well as to implement potential solutions and determine their efficacy. The four areas covered were: (1) Analysis of trends in student success rates. A number of changes were made to the National Diploma over a five year period including the introduction of supplementary examinations, the removal of elective offerings, the change in the sequence of subjects offered and a reduction in contact time. This same period also coincided with the first cohort of students entering with the new NSC matric qualification. This study examined the success rates within subjects, across four semesters of study, from 2007 until 2010 and attempts to show the effects, either positive or negative, that these changes have had. The success rates of subjects within the BTech programme were also interrogated for this same period. These results were also categorised according to whether students obtained their diploma at DUT or at another institution allowing a comparison between the two cohorts. (2) Workplace Learning (WPL). Anecdotal evidence suggested that the manner in which the WPL components were offered had a negative effect on student throughput as well as not providing substantial opportunity for the integration of experience gained in industry with the academic programme. This study, utilising WPL registrations from 2007 to 2010, examined the average time taken to complete the WPL components, the percentage of the academic component completed before and during the WPL period as well as the dropout rate. (3) Relationship between NSC results and success in Mechanical Engineering. The purpose of this study was to determine if relationships could be found between student’s NSC results and success within the programme. This would inform if the departmental entrance requirements were of an appropriate level to ensure prospective students a reasonable chance of success. Results of selected NSC subjects were correlated with those of selected diploma subjects. The distributions of success in these subjects were tabulated against the NSC results allowing a better understanding of the relationship between them. (4) Investigation into causes of poor performance in Hydraulic Machines III. This study was undertaken to better understand the competencies and learning practices of the students in the author’s class. This involved the interrogation of the performance of students over a number of assessments, the tracking of usage of online resources and the tracking of lecture attendance, and subsequent correlation with performance. These studies have led to a better understanding of the programmes offered and have put the department in a position to make informed decisions regarding interventions aimed at increasing student success. The work covered in this thesis was presented in two full papers (Graham and Walker, 2011, Graham and Walker, 2015) and two extended abstracts (Graham and Walker, 2013, Walker and Graham, 2013). / M

M.Ed. (Curriculum Policy Evaluation) / The aim of this study is to investigate how successful undergraduate students from disadvantaged backgrounds have managed their studies at the University of Johannesburg. It addresses the following main research question: How do successful undergraduate students from disadvantaged backgrounds negotiate their performance at university? ’’Successful’’ denotes positive achievements in their development and academic performance. Snowball sampling was used: nine students were chosen in the Faculty of Education from the 2007-2012 student intake to participate in individual interview sessions. This study only considered students who had performed extremely well, and excluded any student who had failed any of their years. The data was collected through interviews, transcribed, coded, analysed and interpreted using an interpretive thematic lens. The themes which emerged showed that students from disadvantaged backgrounds brought different kinds of assets to those of the university’s average students. Consequently, their academic integration and success depended on these assets (capital). The first significant finding was that the background of these students equipped them with the ability to respond to the many and varied challenges in their educational environment so that they emerged as ‘victors’. Their backgrounds had moulded them. They had to cope with the academic rigours of a higher education institution: they were resilient, self-determined and intrinsically motivated. Their life experiences gave them ‘compensatory skills’ (coping mechanisms) which they used when confronted with educational difficulties. The second finding revealed that an understanding of their backgrounds more than adequately explained their success. These students had to negotiate their way through academia very differently. They had to make different choices when faced with the problems of who could help them or where they should go for assistance with their academic work (whether peers, lecturers, tutors or other people).

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.

The present government places tremendous faith in academic performance as a crucial tool for transforming the country's society. However, academic performance in the majority of historically disadvantaged schools is poor. What this means is that these schools are hardly in a position to contribute to this hoped for transformation. This is despite the numerous policies generated by the government in an effort to improve the performance. Underpinning this study was a view that this is because the policies do not address issues that are foundational for academic performance. One such issue, as indicated by widespread findings, is school culture, and associated leadership. In response to this view, an examination was in this study conducted on the relationship between academic performance, school culture and school leadership in two historically disadvantaged African township secondary schools (HDATSS). The purpose was to develop better understanding of school cultures that have the potential of enabling good academic performance in HDATSS, and, in the process, develop better understanding of leadership associated with the formation of such school cultures. The examination was conducted by means of ethnography. The advantage of ethnography for this study was that the methodology results in micro/thick descriptions more likely to inform practice than is the case with thin descriptions provided by other methodologies. Findings were that school cultures that are most likely to enable good academic performance in HDATSS are those that are predominantly communal in nature, but also incorporate societal features. Of particular advantage about communality for the schools' academic performance are common, consensual understandings in relation to the schools' academic goals and behavioural norms. Of advantage about the societal incorporation, on the other hand, is societal capacity to compensate for communality's failure to negotiate common understandings in organizations that are as complex, ever-changing and multifaceted as are HDATSS. It was further found that for such school cultures to be enabling for HDATSS they need to creatively supplement historical deprivations and reflect the cultural backgrounds of the schools' populations. A style of leadership that was found to be associated with the formation of such school cultures is that which emerges organically and is therefore diffused, serving and diversified. / Theses (Ph.D.)-University of Kwazulu-Natal, 2005.

In this study, the factors influencing learner achievement in Geography mapwork were investigated. The survey method was used. Literature review, questionnaires, interviews and observation schedules for both the educators and learners were used to collect data. The questionnaires and interview questions for both the educators and learners reflected the learners' achievement, school problems and how the learners' performance could be improved. Observation was both participant and non-participant. These observations served two purposes: to establish the teaching strategies/methods used in the classroom, and to establish the classroom interaction between educators and learners and their influence on learner achievement. The investigation involved 208 research participants from schools in the Mafikeng District. The findings reveal that most learners do not perform well in mapwork because they lack motivation in doing mapwork, they Jack basic skills to map reading, and finally, they lack basic mathematical skills. Therefore, there is need for re-skilling and retraining for all those involved in mapwork such as educators and learners in areas such as basic skills to map reading, basic mathematical skills and the importance of motivation. / (PhD) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2006

Both experimental research (Robbertse,1952)and clinical observation (Kruger, 1972; van der Merwe,1978) have indicated that pupils with a Verbal IQ score 10 or more points lower than their non-Verbal IQ (termed a 'Type 1' discrepancy in the present research) on the New South African Group Test (NSAGT) show poorer academic achievement than their peers of similar ability. The present research investigates the relationship of general retention ability, as defined by Hakstian and Cattell (1978), to Type 1 discrepancies as well as to their academic correlates. One hundred and thirty-nine standard seven English-speaking boys were tested on the NSAGT and the Junior Aptitude Test (JAT) (of which tests 8 and 9 give an indication of general retention ability) and divided into a group with Type 1 discrepancies and two control groups. All three groups were matched on full-scale IQ. Comparison of these three groups, using the analysis of variance technique, showed that there was no significant difference between them in level of general retention ability or in academic performance (measured by average percentage in the final standard seven examination). While no significant difference was found between the three groups regarding the relationship of general retention ability to academic performance, in the Type 1 discrepancy group the relationship of rote memory (JAT test 8) to academic performance differed markedly from that of associative memory (JAT test 9) to academic performance. In the Type 1 discrepancy group rote memory was highly associated with academic performance, possibly indicating a compensatory strategy for the lower Verbal ability in this group, enabling it to achieve academically on par with the control groups, contrary to what would be expected on the basis of Robbertse's (1962) findings. In terms of Jensen's (1982) Level 1/Level 11 theory of intelligence, it appears from the present research that rote memory ability (JAT test 8) varies between being a Level 11 ability (in the Type 1 discrepancy group) to acting as a Level 1 ability in the two control groups. The present research questions Verwey and Wolmarans's (1980) description of both JAT tests 8 and 9 as simple measures of retention Test 9, in particular, appears to function consistently as a Level 11 ability.

A country’s competitive advantage is linked to its educational outcomes. South Africa, as a developing country wants to shift from being a resource based economy to being a knowledge based economy. To enable such a shift, schools must be able to graduate learners who are adequately prepared for the demands of institutions of higher learning. Schools, therefore, must become centres of excellence and a culture of performance must be prevalent in schools. The National Development Plan as outlined by the National Planning Commission (2011) identified education as one of the pillars from which South Africa’s economy will be driven. However, recent studies have rated South Africa’s education system as one of the worst among middle income economies and sometimes even worse than many low-income African economies. To bridge that gap, there is a need to drive schools to be centres of excellence. This study sought to identify factors that influence a performance culture in schools. In order to achieve this objective, literature was scanned and five factors that influence a performance culture were identified (organisational school climate, teacher attitude, school managerial processes, organisational school value and organisational school structure). These factors were initially identified and used by Marcoulides and Heck (1993) in a corporate organisation and later adopted for testing in a school setting by Gomez, Marcoulides and Heck (2012). A school in Johannesburg East district was sampled through convenience sampling and data was collected through a questionnaire which was administered to the principal, teachers and staff, school governing board members, parents and alumni of the school. The total sample was 120 and a total of 94 questionnaires were returned giving a response rate of 78%. Descriptive statistical techniques were performed to establish the mean and standard deviation of perceptions among the respondents. Inferential statistical techniques were used to measure and ascertain reliability through Cronbach’s alpha, comparisons of responses through t-testing and ANOVA, association through correlation and hypotheses were tested through multiple regression analysis. All the variables were found to be valid and reliable. Furthermore, statistical results revealed that in the sampled school, even though all the five factors had an association among each other, only organisational school culture and organisational school value had an association to the dependent variable, performance culture. Organisational school value, however, was found to be the only variable of great influence to performance culture at the sampled school. The ideologies and activities that represent the values, therefore, influence the performance culture of a school.

Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree MASTER OF EDUCATION in the Department of Educational Psychology and Special Education of the Faculty of Education at the University of Zululand, 2006. / This research was conducted to determine whether classroom climate influences academic achievement of secondary school learners. The literature study indicates that the classroom climate factors such as organization of learning space, learner involvement and discipline have a direct influence on academic achievement. To confirm the influence of the above factors, the research was conducted at four secondary schools in the Amajuba District of Newcastle. The research revealed that a significant positive correlation exists between classroom climate and academic achievement of learners in secondary schools. The research further confirmed that the lack of organization of learning space, lack of learner involvement in lessons and lack of classroom discipline contributes to poor academic achievement in secondary schools. A positive classroom climate is facilitated by educators being given maximum opportunity to teach and learners being given maximum opportunity to learn. The benefit of a positive classroom climate is that the joy of learning is unfolded in an environment that enables each learner to thrive and to soar to greatness by achieving academic success. Ultimately the positive transformation of our society lies within the domain of our emerging generation. Thus positive classroom climate is necessary to raise matric the pass rate of 70% in the Kwa-Zulu Natal Province.