Of the nine South African provinces, Limpopo Province has produced the worst Grade 12 results in the ten years between 1996 and 2006. Yet Thohoyandou and Mutale districts in that province performed outstandingly well from 1994 to 2006. This study aimed to find out what influential factors made the difference within these two districts between high-performing and poorly performing schools, by comparing those that performed well with those that performed badly. Data were gathered by means of questionnaires completed by a total of 87 teachers, and structured interviews were conducted with principals. The sample of 24 schools was divided into two types, ‘high performing’ and ‘poorly performing’. By means of the questionnaires, a total of 114 variables were explored, encompassing a number of different factors, from which a total of 18 hypotheses were derived: three concerning teacher factors (qualifications, home language), 10 concerning school factors (locality, number of classrooms, assembly hall, library etc. and teacher-generated problems), one concerning parental involvement, two concerning teacher motivation and management (frequency and scheduling of staff meetings), and two concerning learner motivation and management (including performance with notes and summaries). The data from both groups of schools were compared in order to test the 18 hypotheses on the influence of different variables upon Grade 12 results, the null hypothesis being, of course, that there was no influence. Before this was done, pairs of variables were also compared and subjected to chi-square testing for each of the two groups of schools to see which of the factors might be related to one another in some way, thus impacting on interpretation of the results of the hypothesis testing. For each of the two groups of schools, results from the questionnaires were analyzed by means of: <ul> <li>Frequency analyses and descriptive statistics extracted from the tables of results where they were of possible interest. Variables such as the gender of teachers were, for example, included.</li> <li>Contingency tables with chi-square analysis testing the independence of the variables where possible relationships between the variables could emerge.</li> <li>Contingency tables with chi-square analysis where the connection was not significant and independence of the variables from each other could therefore be assumed.</li></ul> The chi-square analysis tested the difference between the variables at a 0.5% level of significance. Results of the various analyses were not particularly conclusive. Those with the most reliable levels of significance suggested that the most important variables were those relating to interpersonal relationships, specifically those involving different types of contact. Where staff meetings were scheduled and not particularly frequent, Grade 12 results were better. These results were also better where there was frequent contact between parents and teachers. The results of this study and in this sample area suggest that a school’s management style is more important to Grade 12 performance than the provision of funding and facilities. Further investigation is needed before these conclusions can be generalized to other districts and provinces. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Curriculum Studies / unrestricted

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