D.Ed. / Please refer to full text to view abstract

D.Ed. / The objective of this study is to explore and describe the viewpoints of rural black secondary school principals concerning their leadership responsibilities with regard to the prevention of dropout; to develop strategies for secondary school principals with regard to their leadership role in preventing school dropout and to describe guidelines for the implementation of the strategies

The aim of this case study was to investigate the key factors contributing to the high failure and high dropout rates at a FET College. The FET College selected for the purpose of this study is situated in a city in the Eastern Cape. The Minister of Labour declared in 2006 that FET Colleges in South Africa have a central role to play in assisting youth in gaining skills, in order to realise the South African Government’s goal of halving poverty and unemployment by 2014. The South African Government spent R1.9 million on the recapitalisation of colleges in 2005 to improve the FET Sector. According to the Green Paper (DHET, 2012), the FET College sector is weak and the throughput rate of the 2007 NC (V) cohort nationally was 4 percent and the dropout rate between 13 percent and 25 percent. The average pass rate for the successful completion of NC (V) students at FET Colleges in the Eastern Cape was 12 percent for 2007. The research design selected for this study was an explanatory intrinsic case study of a qualitative nature, with the aim to provide a comprehensive depiction of the case. Data was gathered from various sources and at different stages at the particular college campus. Questionnaires, semi-structured interviews and document interrogations were employed to gather descriptive qualitative data. Demographic information on the students who had dropped out assisted in the profiling of students at risk of dropping out of college. The findings derived from the data showed that multiple factors caused the high student dropout and failure rates, prominent among which was a lack of finances, impacting on accommodation and transport, which in turn impacted on student attendance. A lack of motivation and commitment from students seemed to further contribute to the high student failure and dropout rates. In addition, the students’ perceptions and expectations of the FET College, the barriers to academic success and views about support services were explored. Finally, the present circumstances and plans of students who had dropped out were investigated.

Summary in English. / When considering their dropout, many described experiences of being a misfit, or feeling uncomfortable with discourse practices in which they were expected to engage. Some had logistical difficulties in attending, such as transport or small children, but even greater than these was the fact that they had been disappointed. These learners believe the "literacy myth" that literacy, as a set of skills one can acquire, will result in significant improvements in one's life. They also equate literacy with education, and although they experience none of the benefits that are supposed to accrue to the literate, they continue to say that they believe in its power. However, in practice, attendance at adult centres is relatively poor in comparison with numbers of potential students, those termed "illiterate." It may be deduced that adult "illiterates" regard literacy as some kind of "saviour", a panacea for all ills. Even if it is not directly accessed, the fact of its existence and the notion of its power is enough to provide hope for a better future and comfort in hard times.

Measles is a highly contagious virus that can affect the entire population if an effective immunisation programme is not in place. This study was aimed at determining the measles immunisation coverage and the dropout rate among children aged between 6 months and 14 years and at assessing factors associated with caregivers’ knowledge and perception of, and attitude towards the measles immunisation programme. Between 14 May 2018 and 31 July 2018, a descriptive, cross-sectional study design was conducted using simple random sampling to sample 381 caregivers of children at nine public health facilities at Tshwane Sub-district 2, Hammanskraal town. Data were collected by means of a structured questionnaire and observational checklist, and analysed using IBM SPSS version 23.0. Overall, the measles immunization coverage was 95.8% (365/381) and the MCV1-MCV2 dropout rate was 4.1%. The association between educational level and employment status (correlation coefficient=0.157**, p=0.0002), measles knowledge (correlation coefficient=-0.244**, p=0.000), immunization importance (correlation coefficient=-0.194**, p=0.000) and measles vaccine schedule (correlation coefficient=-0.138**, p=0.007) were found to be significant at p<0.05. The findings in this study revealed that caregivers’ positive attitude towards, and knowledge of measles immunisation programme resulted in high measles immunisation coverage and low dropout rate. It is recommended that continuous positive immunisation education about the benefits and importance be emphasized in order to increase immunisation uptake. / Health Studies / M. P. H.

Thesis (PhD (Curriculum Studies))--University of Stellenbosch, 2005. / Student dropout at higher education institutions in South Africa is an aspect that is receiving increasing attention from the various role-players who have an interest in this aspect due to the negative influence it has on students, higher education institutions, and the economy of the country. Higher education institutions that offer agriculture as a course of study also have to deal with this problem. Approximately one quarter of the students who are admitted at most agricultural training institutions are forced to discontinue their studies or do so voluntarily. Most of these cessations of study occur during or near the end of the first year of study. The cessation of studies is not the only negative aspect. The low pass rate of students at higher education institutions in South Africa is also alarming. The main object of this study was to ascertain why students discontinued their studies and why they took longer than the minimum time allowed to complete their studies. In order to substantiate this theory, an attempt was made to obtain both an international and a national perspective of the student dropout rate in general, as well as to determine what factors were responsible or contributed to successful completion of their studies by students. A background perspective of agricultural education in South Africa was included. The literature reviews are supplemented by a qualitative investigation of students who discontinued their studies specifically at agricultural higher education institutions. A case study approach was employed, in which an in-depth interview strategy was utilised to obtain descriptive and illustrative data. The study demonstrated that dropout rates can be attributed mainly to academic and/or social factors. These factors prevented adequate integration, which is essential to successful studies, from occurring. Various academic factors may be the reason for inadequate academic integration, of which the most important were unclear objectives, a lack of motivation, wrong academic expectations, a misconception of hard work, as well as a lack of the necessary explanatory knowledge in the agricultural study field. New students’ academic adjustment appeared to be the most problematic factor. It appeared that new students were insufficiently prepared to make the adjustment, and in fact, less prepared for this step than was generally the case in the past. Ineffective social integration was the result of too little student participation in social activities or the absence of adequate opportunities for social activities at agricultural training institutions. Unbalanced and unhealthy social activities were often the major factors that contributed to student dropout. Furthermore, the study demonstrated that non-academic factors such as inadequate accommodation or financial problems were not significant causative factors for student dropout, but rather non-academic factors such as unbalanced or unhealthy social activities and poor time management. After the probable causes for student dropout had been established, a theoretical framework was created that could offer possible explanation for the student dropout rates at agricultural training institutions. The framework was created to establish student dropout from a longitudinal perspective, and not only to explain the phenomenon as a result of what had occurred during the time that the student was at the institution. The framework was therefore designed to explain student dropout against the background of the student, together with various factors that were related to students or the institution and which were responsible for inadequate integration. From this framework it was possible to develop individual models for specific agricultural training institutions or for one specific institution in respect of the dropout phenomenon.

Thesis (PhD (Curriculum Studies))--Stellenbosch University, 2008. / In this study the experiences of a group of first-year Extended Degree Programme (EDP) students were explored in order to obtain insight into their acquisition of academic literacy. The study was undertaken against the backdrop of a higher education sector that is facing an increasing influx of first-year students on the one hand, and poor retention rates on the other. In South Africa, where the opening up of access to higher education for all citizens has become a political imperative, the need to address the undesirable dropout rate is self-evident. Students’ poor performance at university is often linked to their under-preparedness for higher education studies, and an important aspect of such under-preparedness is their academic literacy. In this context academic literacy is seen as knowing how to speak and act within a particular discourse, and the reading and writing that occur within the discipline as tools through which to facilitate learning. While some students acquire academic literacy by virtue of their participation in the discourse community of the relevant discipline, this is not always so for students who are less prepared for higher education studies. In response to the disconcerting retention rates, higher education institutions have implemented academic support programmes to address the needs of students who enter university with poor school results. One such intervention at Stellenbosch University is the Extended Degree Programme in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, which makes provision for students to extend their first academic year over two years. Since 2006 EDP students have also been required to register for an academic literacy module and it is this group that comprises the focus of this study. Using a case study design, this qualitative, interpretive inquiry was characterized by multiple data collection methods. In this way qualitative data that pointed to the perceptions of the students and some of the lecturers who taught the EDP classes were generated via semi-structured interviews, focus group interviews, observation and content analysis. In addition, descriptive quantitative data was collected and this further contributed to generating the rich, in-depth data that characterize case study research. The analysis of the data was undertaken according to a three-tiered approach, in which the results of the empirical inquiry were first analysed per data source and then themes and trends across all the data sources were identified. Ultimately, these findings were interpreted according to an explanatory framework. The study highlights a number of important issues, key of which is that providing an academic literacy module for under-prepared students can facilitate the acquisition of academic literacy, particularly when such provision seeks to support the different discipline-based mainstream modules. Another important finding of the study emphasizes the extent to which institutional factors, such as increased student numbers, have placed pressure on university infrastructure and human resources. The impact of this situation filters down to the first-year classroom and negatively influences student learning. Finally, the results of the study question prevailing notions about under-prepared students as all of the students in the study, irrespective of their backgrounds and levels of sophistication, attested to the significant challenges that entry into the academic community posed for them. The findings of this study, while specific to the context in which it was undertaken, contribute to the growing body of knowledge in the field of academic development within higher education and the role of academic literacy in student learning.

Research report (MPhil (Curriculum Studies))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010. / Bibliography / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In this research report I have argued that postgraduate student retention and completion rates in nursing education can be enhanced by attending to the following actions: increased institutional support, initiating students into an ethics of care, and engaging students and lecturers in some form of dialogical communication. In order to ensure that students do not prematurely depart from their programme of study, I have shown that it is not sufficient to offer merely institutional (mostly administrative) support to students, but also cultivating caring and dialogical communication in teaching and learning activities. My argument in defence of caring and dialogical communication is corroborated by an empirical investigation which confirms students’ non-completion and retention in the non-clinical postgraduate nursing education programmes offered by Stellenbosch University’s Nursing Division in 2008. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In hierdie navorsingsverslag het ek geargumenteer dat die nagraadse studentebehoud- en voltooiingkoerse in verpleegonderwys versnel kan word deur aandag aan die volgende aksies te skenk: toenemende institusionele ondersteuning, inisi¸ring van ’n etiek van omgee ten opsigte van studente en die betrokkenheid van studente en dosente in ’n vorm van dialogiese kommunikasie. Om te verhoed dat studente nie voortydig die studieprogram verlaat nie, het ek aangedui dat dit nie voldoende is om slegs institusionele (meesal administratiewe) ondersteuning aan studente te verskaf nie, maar ook om ’n kultuur te skep van omgee en dialogiese kommunikasie in onderrig- en leeraktiwiteite. My argument ter stawing van omgee en dialogiese kommunikasie word ondersteun deur ‘n empiriese ondersoek van studente se nie-voltooiings- en retensiekoerse in die nie-kliniese nagraadse onderwysprogramme wat deur Universiteit Stellenbosch se Verpleegkunde-afdeling in 2008 aangebied is.

A thesis submitted to the Wits School of Education, Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy / The perturbing phenomenon of wastage (revealed through incidences of unsatisfactory levels of student retention, poor pass and completion rates and an increase in repetition rates) is a course of concern for universities as it has a bearing on financial expenditure as well as institutional reputation. For the purpose of this study being at-risk is synonymous with being vulnerable.Student vulnerability is not a homogeneous phenomenon and therefore different student support structures, strategies and policies need to be devised for different issues and problems experienced by vulnerable students. This study argues that as long as effective and adequate institutional support is lacking, student vulnerability will continue to be a 'wastage' catalyst. [Abbreviated Abstract. Open document to view full version - Abstract would not load onto DSpace]

D. Tech. Business Administration / The purpose of this study is to increase the depth of understanding of university managers and programme facilitators of the management and process pertaining to students performance and how the process is used to empower first year students in the Faculty of Management Sciences.