A leitura é um processo complexo, consequência de interações entre fatores ambientais, biológicos e cognitivos. Este estudo visou a investigar a relação entre fatores psicossociais (socioeconômicos e familiares) e cognitivos (memória de trabalho) e o desempenho em leitura de crianças participantes de uma coorte populacional. Foram realizados dois estudos relacionando o desempenho em leitura a: 1) fatores psicossociais e 2) fatores cognitivos. As 65 crianças avaliadas (9-11 anos) eram estudantes de 2ª a 5ª séries de escolas públicas de Porto Alegre-RS. Suas mães participaram de entrevistas sobre dados psicossociais da mãe e de desenvolvimento da criança, feitas aos 4 meses, 2 anos e 5/6 anos de idade das crianças. As crianças foram avaliadas em leitura, QI e memória de trabalho. No estudo 1, correlações significativas negativas foram encontradas entre morbidade psiquiátrica (escore do SRQ-20) da mãe e total de acertos na leitura de palavras irregulares da criança e entre o número de familiares que moravam em casa e o escore total na leitura de palavras da criança. Além disso, a renda familiar correlacionou-se significativa e positivamente com o escore em compreensão de leitura textual da criança. Nas análises de regressão linear apenas o número de familiares que moravam na mesma casa que a criança foi preditor do desempenho em leitura de palavras. Pode-se entender que quanto mais pessoas habitam uma mesma residência, menos recursos são disponibilizados para cada um e os pais podem não ter tempo suficiente para envolverem-se em atividades escolares com seus filhos, o que impacta no desempenho da leitura. No segundo artigo, as medidas de memória de trabalho não se correlacionaram significativamente às tarefas de leitura quando o subteste vocabulário (do WASI) foi controlado. Houve diferenças significativas nas comparações das médias das tarefas de leitura por série – os estudantes de 4ª série apresentaram maiores escores do que as de 3ª. Conclui-se que dos fatores estudados, houve contribuição de variáveis socioeconômicas e familiares para o desempenho em leitura de crianças de uma coorte populacional. A relação entre leitura e memória de trabalho foi intermediada pela linguagem (vocabulário). / Reading is a complex process, a consequence of interactions between environmental, biological and cognitive factors. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between psychosocial factors (socioeconomic and family) and cognitive (working memory) and reading performance of children participating in a population cohort. Two studies were related to reading performance: 1) psychosocial factors and 2) cognitive factors. The 65 evaluated children (9-11 years) were students from 2nd to 5th grade of public schools in Porto Alegre- RS. Their mothers participated in interviews regarding psychosocial data of mother and child development, at 4 months, 2 years and 5 / 6 year old children. Children were tested in reading, IQ and working memory. In one study, negative correlations were found between the psychiatric morbidity (score of SRQ-20) of the mother and the total score in the reading of irregular words between the child and the number of family members who lived in the same house as the child and the total score in words read by the child. Additionally, family income correlated significantly and positively with the reading comprehension text score of the child. In a linear regression analysis only the number of relatives who lived in the same house as the child was a predictor of performance in word reading. One can understand that as more people inhabit a single residence, fewer resources are available for each individual, and parents may not have enough time to get involved in school activities with their children, which impacts the performance of reading. In the second article, the measures of working memory did not correlate significantly with reading assignments when the vocabulary subtest (from the WASI) was controlled. There were significant differences in comparisons of the mean reading task of the series - the fourth grade students had higher scores than the 3rd grade students. We concluded that in the factors studied there was a correlation between the socioeconomic level and the family to the reading performance of children in a population cohort. The relationship between reading and working memory was mediated by language (vocabulary).

The choice of a career is an important decision that a person has to make in his life. The purpose of this study was to identify factors at play at the time that learners' have to commit themselves to chosen career paths. From the literature it became,evident that there exists an interplay between personal and situational factors. This interplay results in the formation of a certain identity which is later actualised in a chosen career. The empirical study revealed that factors like the type of school attended, the school curriculum the socio-economic location of the school and the availability of guidance services played an important role in the choice of a career. Family factors and other factors such as prestige and remuneration were also influential. It appeared however that the level of a learner's career maturity would be a major factor influencing career identity formation, choice and subsequent satisfaction. / Summaries in English and Afrikaans / Een van die belangrike besluite wat In mens moet maak in sy lewe is die van In beroepskeuse. Die doel van hierdie ondersoek was om die faktore te identifiseer wat In rol speel gedurende die tyd wanneer leerders hulself verbind tot In gekose loopbaan. Uit die literatuur blyk dit dot daar In wisselwerking best a an tussen persoonlikeen omstandigheidsfaktore. Hierdie wisselwerking lei tot die vorming van In sekere identiteit wat later verwesenlik word in In gekose beroep. Die empiriese ondersoek toon dot faktore soos die tipe skool bygewoon, die kurrikulum, die sosio-ekonomiese ligging van die skool en die beskikbaarheid van voorligtingsdienste In belangrike rol gespeel het in die keuse van In beroep. Gesinsfaktore en onder faktore soos aansien en vergoeding het ook 'n rol gespeel. Dit het veral geblyk dot die vlak van die leerder se beroepsvolwassenheid In aansienlike faktor was wat beroepsidentiteitsvorming, keuse en die daaropvolgende beroepsbevrediging, be'invloed het. / Psychology of Education / M.Ed. (guidance and Counselling)

The choice of a career is an important decision that a person has to make in his life. The purpose of this study was to identify factors at play at the time that learners' have to commit themselves to chosen career paths. From the literature it became,evident that there exists an interplay between personal and situational factors. This interplay results in the formation of a certain identity which is later actualised in a chosen career. The empirical study revealed that factors like the type of school attended, the school curriculum the socio-economic location of the school and the availability of guidance services played an important role in the choice of a career. Family factors and other factors such as prestige and remuneration were also influential. It appeared however that the level of a learner's career maturity would be a major factor influencing career identity formation, choice and subsequent satisfaction. / Summaries in English and Afrikaans / Een van die belangrike besluite wat In mens moet maak in sy lewe is die van In beroepskeuse. Die doel van hierdie ondersoek was om die faktore te identifiseer wat In rol speel gedurende die tyd wanneer leerders hulself verbind tot In gekose loopbaan. Uit die literatuur blyk dit dot daar In wisselwerking best a an tussen persoonlikeen omstandigheidsfaktore. Hierdie wisselwerking lei tot die vorming van In sekere identiteit wat later verwesenlik word in In gekose beroep. Die empiriese ondersoek toon dot faktore soos die tipe skool bygewoon, die kurrikulum, die sosio-ekonomiese ligging van die skool en die beskikbaarheid van voorligtingsdienste In belangrike rol gespeel het in die keuse van In beroep. Gesinsfaktore en onder faktore soos aansien en vergoeding het ook 'n rol gespeel. Dit het veral geblyk dot die vlak van die leerder se beroepsvolwassenheid In aansienlike faktor was wat beroepsidentiteitsvorming, keuse en die daaropvolgende beroepsbevrediging, be'invloed het. / Psychology of Education / M.Ed. (guidance and Counselling)

La présente étude traite de la problématique de la réussite scolaire chez les adolescentes âgées de 13 à 18 ans des lycées et collèges du département du Logone et Chari dans la région de l’Extrême-nord du Cameroun. Les filles de cette région font face à un certain nombre de difficultés liées à leur environnement, tant familial que scolaire, ainsi qu’à leurs propres attitudes qui compromettent leurs études. En dépit de ces écueils, certaines adolescentes réussissent à passer en classe supérieure avec des moyennes élevées et à décrocher leurs diplômes. Notre objectif en abordant cette recherche est d’étudier l’influence des facteurs personnels, familiaux et scolaires sur la réussite scolaire des adolescentes. En effet, nous nous sommes posé une question fondamentale, à savoir : quels sont les facteurs personnels, familiaux et scolaires qui prédisent le plus la réussite scolaire chez les adolescentes des lycées et collèges du département du Logone et Chari ? Pour répondre à cette préoccupation, quatre hypothèses nous ont guidé notamment une hypothèse générale intitulée « des facteurs personnels, familiaux et scolaires prédisent le plus la réussite scolaire chez les adolescentes des lycées et collèges d’enseignement général et technique, publics et privés du département du Logone et Chari », et trois hypothèses spécifiques : « les aspirations élevées contribuent à la réussite scolaire chez les adolescentes » ; « les attitudes éducatives parentales positives encouragent la réussite scolaire des adolescentes » et « les attitudes et les pratiques éducatives encourageantes des enseignants expliquent la réussite scolaire chez les adolescentes ». Trois questionnaires préalablement validés ont été administrés à un échantillon de 1031 adolescentes des lycées et collèges, de 1010 parents d’élèves, de 180 enseignants et 36 entretiens ont été conduits auprès de « femmes/filles sorties de l’école après y avoir réussi ». L’analyse des résultats a montré qu’il existe des corrélations significatives entre les différents facteurs personnels, familiaux et scolaires et la réussite scolaire chez les adolescentes. Nous avons suggéré quelques recommandations aux responsables du ministère des enseignements secondaires, aux parents et aux enseignants pour une meilleure implication des uns et des autres dans la réussite scolaire des adolescentes. Enfin, des propositions des recherches complémentaires ont été suggérées dans l’optique de pallier les limites mentionnées à la présente étude / This study focuses on the problem of the school success of the teenage girls between the ages of 13-18 in the secondary and high schools of the Logone and Chari division, in the far-north region of Cameroon. Girls in this region face a number of problems related to their environment, family as well as academic due to their attitude which affect their studies. Inspite of these difficulties some young girls succeed in their studies. Our aim is to study the influence of individual, family and school factors on the school performance of the girl child. In effect we have raised one fundamental question in order to know: what are the individual, family and school factors which have to do with the teenage girl which determine their school success? In answering these question, the following hypotheses guided us: a main hypothese entitles “personal, family and school factors favour school success among the teenage girls in government and private secondary and high school both general and technical of Logone and Chari division” and tree specific hypotheses: “high aspirations contributed to school success among teenage girls”; “the attitudes and parental positives educational encourage school success of teenage girls” and “the attitudes and positives educational practices of teachers explain school success among teenage girls”. Tree questionnaires and a pilotated interview guide were administrated to a sample of 1031 teenage girls of secondary and high school, 1010 parents of students, 180 teachers and 36 “women/girls who succeeded in school before leaving”. The analysis of results showed that there are significant correlations among individual, family and school success factors and the school success teenage girls. In conclusion, we made some suggestions on areas of intervention to the hierarchy of the ministry of secondary education, to parents and to teachers in order to involve each of them in the school success of girls and make them more resilient. At the end some proposal, for further researches were made with the view to amend the limits of research

This study presents a quantitative investigation of the influence of various social factors – including finances, secondary school attended, resources available, culture, and family support – on the perceptions of success (in terms of academic performance and skills gained) of adult learners who are using online learning as the primary educational medium. The research was conducted with 100 students of The International Hotel School in South Africa. A quantitative research methodology was followed and a survey questionnaire was used as the data collection method. The data from closed-ended questions was analysed using Statistical Analysis System (SAS), with the data from open-ended questions being used to aid in the interpretation of the information organised quantitatively. Findings suggest that certain social factor constructs namely: finances, secondary school preparation for tertiary education, and internet accessibility, significantly impact the perceptions the students have on being successful in online learning. Some recommendations that spring from the study are to provide more funding to students, better access to more suitable resources and providing students with unlimited access to the internet for longer periods of time. It is also recommended that a follow-up study with a larger and more varied sample (possibly including public sector tertiary education students), and more questionnaire items per social factor is necessary to cast further light on the impact of social factors on adult students’ online learning experiences. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (With specialisation in Adult Education)