The validity of a new essay coding system for rating performance goal orientation and learning goal orientation was tested using a sample of undergraduate students. The study was designed to remedy limitations in the design of the previous study using the essay coding system. The essay coding system was evaluated for its predictive power above and beyond the Goal Orientation Inventory, a self-report measure. Outcome measures included coping skills, depression, anxiety, well-being, and academic performance. It was predicted that performance goal orientation would be associated with unhealthy coping, more depression, more anxiety, less well-being, and lower GPA and learning goal orientation would be associated with healthy coping, less depression, less anxiety, more well-being, and higher GPA. Setback severity and setback frequency were predicted as moderators of the relationships between goal orientation and the outcome variables. Analysis of the Goal Orientation Inventory show that the subscales are associated with coping and mood as predicted. Using hierarchical linear regression, number of setbacks and severity of setbacks moderated the relationship between goal orientation and depression, wellbeing, and grades. High learning goals and high performance goals predicted more stable mood in the face of academic disappointments. High learning goals also predicted higher grades following a severe academic setback.

Faculty of Criminology, Justice and Policy Studies

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An increasing number of publications from a variety of human service fields have sought to utilize mindfulness meditation as a means to reduce psychological distress and increase positive psychological outlooks. These studies typically involve mindfulness training and typically last anywhere from 4 hours to 8 weeks. To date, no published research has established the minimal amount of time for effective outcomes to benefit from mindfulness exposure. The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether brief exposure to mindfulness training before a discrete event can lead to positive outcomes in that event and increased mindfulness in a group of university students. A group of 26 undergraduate and graduate students in two different classes were exposed to either a control task (listening to music) or a mindfulness intervention just prior to taking a quiz. The session lasted no more than 30 minutes and the mindfulness intervention itself was timed to not exceed 15 minutes. Visual inspection of the data yielded some positive outcomes in terms of increased performing on a quiz in comparison to quiz grades the week before. Statistical analysis suggested that these outcomes were not statistically significant. This study adds to the research on mindfulness as an intervention for positive outcomes. Implications for future research on practical benefits of mindfulness were discussed.

Submitted to the FaCUlty of Education in fulfilment of the requirements of MASTER OF EDUCATION In the Department of Educational Planning and Administration of the University of Zululand, 1988. / The investigator had noted that performance of pupils, especially in standard 10, had not expectations despite the application of measures supervision, inspection, guidance, in-service circulars and distance training of teachers. Secondary risen to such as training, It became clear to the researcher that factors within society in relation to achievement of secondary school pupils should be researched so as to form a basis on which measures at guidance, pupil assistance, instruction, teaching and supervision can be carried out.

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Arts in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2009. / While entering the university is often a wonderful experience to a number of students, to some students it is very a challenging exposure to a degree where they even end up discontinuing their studies. This study was concerned with the challenges and coping mechanisms that students used as they were confronted by the university environment. The purposive sample of ten students was selected from the University of Zululand student population and they volunteered participation in the study. The research findings of this study indicated that many students found entering the university very challenging, as the environment there was experienced as impersonal, demanding, competitive and directionless. The aim of the research study was to investigate students' experiences in association with the transition from high school to university and to identify mechanisms that they used to handle the transition in question.

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Masters in Educational Psychology in the Department of Educational Psychology & Special Needs Education at the University Of Zululand, 2017 / This study focused in investigating student’s poor academic performance with emphasis on the relationship between motivational factors and scholastic achievement amongst students across the Further Education and Training phase. Using rural-based schools as a case study that underperformed in 2014, this study presented the results from a survey and that was conducted to Grade 10 to 12 students using Motivation and Engagement Scale-High School (MES-H). The findings suggested that both internal and external factors contributed to student’s academic performance. The results showed that internal factors like student self-confidence, planning, hard work were some of the dominant internal factors that promoted student engagement high academic performance while anxiety, uncertain control and self-sabotage were major indicators of poor academic performance and disengagement. The study found that external factors like parental involvement, collaborative learning and good life were highly illuminated as positive external contributors to student’s high academic performance. This study argued that both the internal and external factors played a vital role towards enhancing and developing student’s high academic performance standards. This study contributed to the body of knowledge in the student academic performance arguing that parents and teachers have an equal and dual responsibility towards student success. For the future research, the researcher propose that the investigation should be extended to the majority of students for the better generalization of the findings based on the relationship between motivational factors and school success. Further research that includes educators, students and parents in the education system could be ideal. The research that will focus on parents, teachers and students should be undertaken to further contribute to the research agenda that seeks to understand student motivation and academic success. This type of research will extend the understanding of motivational factors and student success from an extended view beyond the classroom and school setting. The research should be conducted in both urban and rural areas. The study gives some information relating to the issue of students affected by their environment. Further investigation can be done on students from, different environments (township, suburbs, rural etc.)

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of MASTERS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY at the UNIVERSITY OF ZULULAND, 1997. / This study examined the impact of home-environment on pupils' academic achievement. The first aim was to find out the association, if any, between parental structure and pupils' academic achievement. The second aim was to find out the relationship, if any, between parent-occupational status and pupils' academic achievement. The third aim was to find out the relationship, if any, between parental-involvement and pupils' academic achievement. The fourth aim was to discover the association, if any, between parental-managed learning programmes and pupils' academic achievement. The findings reveal that there is consistent relationship between parental-structure and pupils' academic achievement. Two-parent families are the most influential variable on pupils' academic achievement. There is a relationship between parent-occupational status and pupils' academic achievement. The type of job the parent is doing has an impact on child's academic performance. The study showed that pupils bom of professional parents, obtain highest scores on academic performance. There is a relationship between parentai-invoivement and pupils' academic achievement. Children, whose parents show high level of involvement, perform better in their academic tasks than those children whose parents are not involved in school matters. There is a relationship between parental-managed learning programmes and pupils' academic achievement. Parental two-way communication with the school, enhances pupils' academic performance.

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Education in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education in the Department of Curriculum & Instructional Studies at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2015. / Low academic performance of grade twelve learners is one of the major concerns in South Africa. Mbizana district is one of the areas where grade twelve results have remained relatively low over the years. The Eastern Cape National School Certificate (NSC) provincial pass rate in 2007 was 56.9% and the pass rate for Mbizana district was 42.7%. In 2008 the provincial pass rate was 50.6%, while the pass rate for Mbizana slumped down to 29.3%. Thus, it is clear that Mbizana grade twelve learners were under-achieving in the NSC examinations. Although the situation has since shown some notable improvements, the district still remains one of the worst performing, both provincially and nationally – standing at the NSC pass rate of 58.7% in 2013, against 64.9% and 78.2% provincial and national pass rates, respectively. It was against this background that the researcher felt that the case of Mbizana warranted a systematic investigation. This study focused on the environmental and socio-economic factors that were presumed to affect learner academic achievement in the Mbizana district. More specifically, the this study sought to find out what learners, educators, school management team (SMT) members, and school governing body (SGB) members considered to be the major contributory factors to the relatively low academic performance of Mbizana district school learners in the NSC examinations. It was also of interest to the study, to establish the major similarities and differences in the factors that the various stakeholders considered to be the major contributory factors to the reported low learner academic achievement. To give the study a theoretical base, three theoretical perspectives that focus on various factors affecting learner performance were presented and discussed, namely Caroll’s Model of School Learning, Slamin’s QAIT Model of Effective Classroom Practice and Huitt’s Model of Teaching/Learning Process. The researcher chose Huitt’s Model of Teaching/Learning Process as the most appropriate to guide and direct her study. In addition to this, the researcher also II undertook a review of literature focusing on previous empirical studies related to factors considered to affect learner performance, in line with the research questions. The study used a mixed-methods research paradigm, involving both qualitative and quantitative research data. The chosen research design was Descriptive Survey, and the data gathering techniques were questionnaires and interview schedules for face to face interviews with the respective respondent groups. The research sample comprised ninety randomly selected respondents, broken down as follows: forty grade twelve learners, fifteen SMT members, twenty five subject educators and ten SGB members. All the participants were drawn from the Mbizana district, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. With regard to the major findings, the factors considered by grade twelve learners to be the major contributors to their low academic performance included a lack of parental support, road poor infrastructure, and a shortage of physical (laboratories, libraries) and qualified educators. On their part, SMT members considered learners’ socio-economic statuses, a shortage of qualified educators and a lack of physical and material learning/teaching resources. For the educators, there was a view that owing to a number of factors, teacher morale and motivation were low – and that this adversely affected learner academic performance in Mbizana schools. The educators further contended that some among them experienced difficulties in adequately implementing the new curriculum; and also that many were either unqualified or under-qualified for the classes that they With regard to SGB members, the cited major contributors to low learner academic performance were the absence of supportive infrastructure (laboratories, libraries), a shortage of qualified educators, lack of parental support, a non-supportive socio-economic background of learners, and the unstable education system, occasioned by never-ending curricular changes. The similarities and differences in the responses of the various stakeholders were noted. / Mbizana Human Resource Skills Development

Submitted in part fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of M Ed (Ed. Psych) in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Zululand, 2005. / Reading is generally considered to be a critical skill, both within and beyond the walls of the classroom. Its importance for academic success within a school is unlikely to be contested by many people. Reading is well-integrated into our education system generally, such that educational or academic success is almost synonymous with reading success. With this in mind, the purpose of this research was to examine the relationship between reading difficulties and academic performance. To this end a group of Foundation Phase learners were selected on the basis of having an already identified reading difficulty. Using data from their school academic progress reports and from a scholastic assessment carried out by an educational psychologist, correlations were calculated between the learners' reading ability and academic performance. The research findings showed no significant correlation. These results were not in line with the general opinion supported by the literature, in that the children's reading difficulties did not appear to be impacting negatively on their academic potential. Various factors are discussed as possible explanations for this phenomenon.