M. Ed. / Many higher education institutions face the loss of subsidy due to the high attrition rate of students. Despite the many advantages of alternate access programmes documented in literature, numerous Engineering Faculty members and members of the management of the University of Johannesburg believed that first time applicants with A and B symbols on their senior certificate were stronger students than those students who had completed an alternate access programme. Furthermore, they felt that the alternate access students took up the places which should have been given to those students with excellent senior certificate results. While many studies have been conducted on alternate access programmes there appears to be no evidence of the academic benefits that students derive from them. This generic qualitative study focused on what students perceive to be the academic benefits of alternate access programmes for their mainstream study. Purposeful sampling was used to select Engineering students from the 2005 and 2006 cohort to participate in focus group interviews and the data gathered during the interviews were analysed and interpreted using an Interpretivist lens. The themes that emerged from the study confirmed that students found the programmes to be beneficial but that they became aware of most of the academic benefits only once they joined the mainstream students in their second year of study. This study revealed the alternate access students were of the opinion that there are a number of academic benefits that they had derived from the alternate access programmes. They were in agreement that these benefits had helped to prepare them for mainstream study and they concluded that the benefits had contributed to their academic success in their mainstream studies. The findings of this study suggest that alternate access programmes have an important role to play in providing students with access, support and success in mainstream studies which in turn leads to the increased throughput of students and higher education institutions retaining subsidy.

M.Ed. / The aim of this study is to determine the role of pre-existing levels of digital literacy on the academic performance of students who are enrolled for the National Diploma Information Technology at the University of Johannesburg. The majority of students entering the University of Johannesburg are black and come from schools and communities which do not enjoy the same technologically rich environments as that of their counterparts, yet on entering their first year of studies, they are expected by lecturers to perform at the same level as those from advantaged backgrounds. Students enrolled in 2008 were targeted, using a mixed methods study that incorporated both quantitative and qualitative data to illuminate the factors related to digital literacy that may have influenced the students’ likelihood to succeed in the Information Technology modules. The data that were collected were brought in relation to the students final marks for the subject Information Systems 1 Module A (Computer Concepts). It emerged that the computer literate students performed significantly better during the first semester compared to the computer illiterate students. The computer illiterate students indicated that the lack of computer experience influenced their ability to pass computer related subjects; however, it was not the only limiting factor as socioeconomic factors also played a role. Other results showed that students battled to keep up with the fast pace with which subjects were lectured. The students’ level of the English language is a predictor of their success in the Diploma and more than 70% of students were unable to use the Internet.

The purpose of the research was to investigate academic writing challenges faced by first year B.Ed. students at the University of the Witwatersrand in order to assist tutors support these students. One of the main findings is first year B.Ed. students find it challenging to move from school literacies to academic literacy, and thus they need to be ‘initiated’ into academic literacy. The findings indicate that students need assistance with reading the articles on which essays are based, with understanding what essay questions require them to do, with quoting and referencing from sources and with the ‘mechanics’ of writing. A further finding is that some students face academic writing challenges because they resist being initiated into academic conventions for several reasons. The study concludes with some recommendations to course designers and tutors including the recommendations.

The competencies and needs of those entering the teaching profession have become the subject of public debate since the release of A Nation at Risk. Subsequently many comprehensive and comparative reviews have documented the socialization of those entering the teaching profession especially student teachers and first-year teachers. The problems of beginning teachers have produced survival and self-oriented concerns. Internships and induction programs have been developed to ease the socialization of beginning teachers and mediate these concerns. As internships are developed and induction programs implemented, descriptive field studies which examine the processes of beginning teacher socialization are needed. Particularly, studies which investigate the socialization of first-year teachers prepared in cooperative field-based programs are necessary. This study was designed to document and analyze the teaching experiences of four first-year teachers who completed an extended field-based Internship – CPEP (Cooperative Professional Education Program). These teaching experiences were documented in terms of a conceptual framework drawn from socialization theory, occupational socialization theory, and teacher socialization research. Three questions were developed to guide this research into the teacher socialization process: 1) What are the socialization structures and processes, formal and informal, which shaped teachers' perceptions of their first year of teaching? 2) What are the teachers' perceptions of problems encountered and what adjustments are made? 3) What are the common concerns shared by these beginning teachers? The conceptual framework, socialization theory, coupled with a comparative case study design, were utilized to collect, organize, and interpret the data. Data sources included interviews, questionnaires, observations, video tapes, and journals. These multiple data sources provided evidence of the factors which explain beginning teachers’ induction into the teaching profession, teaching experiences in terms of teacher socialization theory and research and the relationship between teacher socialization and occupational socialization theory. The answers to the research questions are as follows: First, several significant contextual factors shaped these first-year teachers' perceptions of teaching: the organizational nature of the schools, the physical demands necessary to maintain energy levels for teaching, and the lack of time for planning. The influence of each teacher's primary socializing agent, the internship mentor teacher was expressed through a process of collegial emulation. Their students and teachers in other schools were also influential socializing agents. The behavioral outcomes of the teachers consistently focused on issues related to efficiency and organization. Second. the most significant self-perceived problems were the lack of planning time and the dynamics of working with other staff members. Although these beginning teachers became increasingly self-critical about the consequences of their teaching, they maintained a tone of confidence and competence. Third, the Stages of Concern Questionnaire administered to the teachers revealed relatively high student-focused (task) and teacher-oriented (impact) concern intensities. Their most commonly shared concerns included refocusing their teaching and identifying the consequences of their instruction. Although institutional demands influenced teacher adjustment to the norms and values of the profession and to the school as a social organization, the teachers also took an active role in this socialization process. The teachers were influenced by institutional norms, but they also created new roles and norms. Consequently, their socialization was a dynamic and interactive process. Occupational socialization variables which linked teacher socialization to occupation socialization theory included training, formal and informal mechanisms of control, and stages of socialization. The research findings contribute to the teacher education knowledge base and should be of value to four primary audiences: school site administrators who supervise beginning teachers, staff development administrators who organize in-service programs, governing bodies which regulate teacher certification, and university personnel who develop and supervise teacher preparation programs.

It is well established that such student precollege cognitive measures as high school GPA and test scores (ACT, SAT) have a certain predictive value in student retention. While research is replete with evidence of the value of student advising in a college’s retention strategy, there is a gap in the literature on the impact of using noncognitive survey information by advisors to better target student deficiencies. The primary goal of this study was to explore the relationship between retention and exposure to noncognitive risk factor information for students and advisors. One thousand fifty-four freshmen students enrolled in a first-year experience (FYE) course at Dixie State College were given the Student Strengths Inventory (SSI) survey that measures six different noncognitive risk factor variables. By using a regression discontinuity design, students were initially divided into two sample groups using an index score generated by combining the high school GPA and ACT (or equivalent) test score. Students who fell below the cutoff point were further subdivided by random sampling into three groups: (a) students who received their survey results with no further action, (b) students selected for general advisement, and (c) students selected for targeted advisement using the survey results. When comparing the retention rates from fall semester 2009 to fall semester 2010, the retention rates varied as predicted by the researcher; however, these differences in retention could not be attributed to the usage of the survey with one exception: when the treatment group was filtered only to include first-generation students, usage of the survey results was statistically significant in contributing to a 62% retention rate, the highest of any of the sample groups studied.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2006. / Full text release at OhioLINK's ETD Center delayed at author's request

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Kent State University, 2008. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed Jan. 4, 2010). Advisor: Richard Ambrose. Keywords: entry-year teachers, professional development, teacher perception. Includes bibliographical references (p. 226-242).

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2001. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 149-153). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2001. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 149-153). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Virginia Commonwealth University, 2009. / Prepared for: Dept. of Educational Studies. Title from title-page of electronic thesis. Bibliography: leaves 217-231.