Published Article / This article traces the early development and implementation of an extended curriculum in the Faculty of Humanities, Development and Social Sciences at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. Following Volbrecht and Boughey (2004) and Boughey (2007), it analyses the programme in the context of the development of Academic Development over two decades. The programme represents a conceptual shift from a foundation year model to a more holistic, integrated intervention which extends to the end of the second year. Prompted primarily by pedagogical and academic considerations, it is also a response to increasing emphasis on throughput and success and to the need to increase and enhance efficiency in Higher Education. The tension between the potential benefits of such a curriculum and challenges and constraints impacting on it is discussed in an attempt to develop a curriculum which is sustainable and which will result in higher success rates and the wider transformation of the curriculum.

Magister Educationis - MEd / The purpose of this study is to determine the nature of support services offered to Extended Curriculum Programme students in a South African university. The primary goals of support services in higher education are to support students holistically and reduce barriers to learning in the teaching and learning environment. One of the faculties in a South African university established a support unit to assist with the low throughput level. The academic support unit is housed in the Academic Development Department (ADD) in a faculty. The unit attempts to address the needs of underachieving students in the Extended Curriculum Programme (ECP). The thesis first identifies the challenges the ECP students are experiencing. Then, support services in the university and in the support unit are described. Thereafter, the challenges experienced by the centre of support services in the university and the support unit are illuminated. Qualitative data was gathered through individual interviews with senior management. Then, a focus group discussion with tutors who volunteer in a support unit was facilitated and lastly the staff members employed in the support unit were also interviewed individually. The thesis was able to identify the intrinsic and extrinsic barriers to learning the ECP students are experiencing. It became evident that the support services available in the university and the support unit are not sufficient to address the needs of the students. The challenges the support service centre of the university and the support unit are experiencing are twofold. The first is a lack of organisational resources that hinders service delivery, the second is a lack of skills and expertise in attain structures that limits the provision of support services.

Magister Educationis (Adult Learning and Global Change) - MEd(AL) / This research paper is based on an investigation of the factors that enabled final year students to persist in a four-year degree programme (Foundation Programme). This study is important given that students who generally enrol for this programme terminate their studies before completion. This is a qualitative study in which interviewing was employed to collect the data. The conceptual framework is underpinned by Tinto’s model of student persistence with specific focus on student involvement through peer group interaction in the formal structure of the classroom. It also hones in on informal engagement which goes beyond the nature of the classroom. It further explores the relevance of academic integration, which encompasses a student’s ability to become well-grounded intellectually in the sphere of the institution in order to respond in a critical and systematic way to its educational demands. In addition, it further interrogates how peer group interaction and academic integration impact students’ ability to persist with their studies. Thus, the findings confirm that relationships exist between peer group interaction, academic integration, and persistence.

This research responds to a body of literature that identifies the epistemological difficulties faced previously disadvantaged University entrants who are insufficiently prepared to successfully master the academic requirements at tertiary institutions in South Africa. The study investigates the impact of the nascent Extended Curriculum Tutorials (ECTs) programme in the Humanities at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg on students‟ academic performance and social integration into the academy. These ECTs were developed and piloted in 2006 and were formally implemented in 2007. the aim of the programme is to articulate access into mainstream study through introducing students to the discursive practices of selected disciplines. They are available as an augmented extension of the existing access programme at the University. The research focuses on the following questions: 1) Are extended curriculum academic access interventions instrumental in the academic success and student development?; 2) What are the students‟ personal and interpersonal experiences within the programme in their social and academic development?; Which pedagogical approach/es are prevalent within the extended curriculum tutorials and 4) What is the role and the use of social capital within the programme? A triangulation of quantitative and qualitative methods was employed for data collection in this study. The findings are based on: 1) A comparative statistical analysis of students‟ assessment marks; 2) A student evaluation of the programme; 3) Participatory classroom observations and 4) in-depth interviews with students and tutors within the programme. The findings reveal that the extended curriculum tutorials are instrumental not only in supporting academic success but also in facilitating personal development. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2010.

Magister Educationis - MEd / The purpose of this study is to determine the nature of support services offered to Extended Curriculum Programme students in a South African university. The primary goals of support services in higher education are to support students holistically and reduce barriers to learning in the teaching and learning environment. One of the faculties in a South African university established a support unit to assist with the low throughput level. The academic support unit is housed in the Academic Development Department (ADD) in a faculty. The unit attempts to address the needs of underachieving students in the Extended Curriculum Programme (ECP). The thesis first identifies the challenges the ECP students are experiencing. Then, support services in the university and in the support unit are described. Thereafter, the challenges experienced by the centre of support services in the university and the support unit are illuminated. Qualitative data was gathered through individual interviews with senior management. Then, a focus group discussion with tutors who volunteer in a support unit was facilitated and lastly the staff members employed in the support unit were also interviewed individually. The thesis was able to identify the intrinsic and extrinsic barriers to learning the ECP students are experiencing. It became evident that the support services available in the university and the support unit are not sufficient to address the needs of the students. The challenges the support service centre of the university and the support unit are experiencing are twofold. The first is a lack of organisational resources that hinders service delivery, the second is a lack of skills and expertise in attain structures that limits the provision of support services.