The aim of this investigation was to determine the effect of the psychological variables on the academic performance of first year students at the University of Potchefstroom. The reason that research in this field is important is that it can address the negative influence that the high failure rate of the first year students have on the community, the economy, and the severe financial and personal strain. Academic performance is the product of various inter-related factors. It is however difficult to get a representative model of all these factors. This is because academic performance, especially at university level, is an extremely complex and multi-facetted system. These factors need to be examined in conjunction with one another. A clear definition of the criteria used for academic performance evaluation is essential. A distinction is made between first year students that are successful in their studies as opposed to those that are not. A successful first year student is defined as a student who is credited with a pass mark in all the subjects required for that year of study, for the course taken. An unsuccessful first year student is a student that fails 50% or more of the subjects required for his I her course in that year, thus forcing the student to prolong the duration of the total study period by at least one year. A literature survey was done, in an attempt to identify and discuss some of the factors that influence academic performance. Various researchers' opinion on these factors were highlighted. The variables were grouped under the following headings: biographic, socio-economic, cognitive, personality, and academic factors. The following empirical tests were used: Senior Aptitude Test (SAT), the Ninteen Field Interest Inventory (19-FII), the Personal, Home, Social and Formal Relations Questionnaire (PHSF) and the Survey of Study Habits and Attitudes (SSHA). The study population consisted of academically successful and unsuccessful first year students that started their studies in 1998 at the University of Potchefstroom. The population included diversity in terms of faculty, race and gender. Detailed statistics were used to correlate the variables by means of graphs for each assessment technique. Statistical variance is shown in tabular form. Psychological differences between men and women are highlighted, as well as differences between race groups and faculties. The empirical study shows that there definitely are psychological factors that play a role in academic performance. A correlation between intelligence, personality, career interests, study habits and attitude, and the academic performance of the student is shown. From the literature, and on grounds of the empirical study done, it can be shown that psychological variables do influence the academic performance of the student, and that there is a correlation between the variables and academic performance. / Thesis (M.A.)--Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education, 2000

The aim of this investigation was to determine the effect of the psychological variables on the academic performance of first year students at the University of Potchefstroom. The reason that research in this field is important is that it can address the negative influence that the high failure rate of the first year students have on the community, the economy, and the severe financial and personal strain. Academic performance is the product of various inter-related factors. It is however difficult to get a representative model of all these factors. This is because academic performance, especially at university level, is an extremely complex and multi-facetted system. These factors need to be examined in conjunction with one another. A clear definition of the criteria used for academic performance evaluation is essential. A distinction is made between first year students that are successful in their studies as opposed to those that are not. A successful first year student is defined as a student who is credited with a pass mark in all the subjects required for that year of study, for the course taken. An unsuccessful first year student is a student that fails 50% or more of the subjects required for his I her course in that year, thus forcing the student to prolong the duration of the total study period by at least one year. A literature survey was done, in an attempt to identify and discuss some of the factors that influence academic performance. Various researchers' opinion on these factors were highlighted. The variables were grouped under the following headings: biographic, socio-economic, cognitive, personality, and academic factors. The following empirical tests were used: Senior Aptitude Test (SAT), the Ninteen Field Interest Inventory (19-FII), the Personal, Home, Social and Formal Relations Questionnaire (PHSF) and the Survey of Study Habits and Attitudes (SSHA). The study population consisted of academically successful and unsuccessful first year students that started their studies in 1998 at the University of Potchefstroom. The population included diversity in terms of faculty, race and gender. Detailed statistics were used to correlate the variables by means of graphs for each assessment technique. Statistical variance is shown in tabular form. Psychological differences between men and women are highlighted, as well as differences between race groups and faculties. The empirical study shows that there definitely are psychological factors that play a role in academic performance. A correlation between intelligence, personality, career interests, study habits and attitude, and the academic performance of the student is shown. From the literature, and on grounds of the empirical study done, it can be shown that psychological variables do influence the academic performance of the student, and that there is a correlation between the variables and academic performance. / Thesis (M.A.)--Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education, 2000

Hierdie studie handel oor die invloed van twee onderrigbenaderings naamlik tradisioneel en sosiaal-konstruktivisties, op Graad 6-leerders se studieoriëntasie in Wiskunde. Om die omvang hiervan beter in perspektief te plaas is daar gekyk na wat die moontlike verskille is tussen die tradisionele sowel as die sosiaal-konstruktivistiese onderrigbenaderings ten opsigte van Graad 6-leerders se studieoriëntasie in Wiskundeprestasie. Literatuur dui aan dat leerders swak presteer en noem faktore wat moontlik bydra. Verder dui die literatuur aan dat daar nie genoeg navorsing is ten opsigte van ontoereikende wiskundeprestasie nie. Dit is kommerwekkend dat daar tot dusver redelik min navorsing gedoen is wat Graad 6-leerders se ontoereikende prestasie in Wiskunde aanbetref (Rademeyer, 2009) aangesien dit so ’n belangrike rol speel tot die beroepswêreld (Salman et al, 2010). Maree, Pretorius en Eiselen (2003) meen dat verbetering in Wiskundeprestasie moontlik gefasiliteer kan word deur op die leerders se ontoereikende studieoriëntasie te fokus en dít dan so te probeer verbeter. Die konseptuele raamwerk van hierdie studie rus op Vygotsky se sone van proksimale ontwikkeling (Maimane, 2006) sowel as Bronfenbrenner se ekologiese teorie en die konseptuele raamwerk (Santrock, 2001; Bronfenbrenner,2012) Die navorsingsvrae lui dan as volg: Primêre navorsingsvraag: Wat is die verskil tussen die tradisionele sowel as die sosiaal-konstruktivistiese onderrigbenadering ten opsigte van Graad 6-leerders se studieoriëntasie in Wiskundeprestasie? Eerste sekondêre vraag: Hoe verskil die tradisionele onderrigbenadering ten opsigte van die sosiaal-konstruktivistiese onderrigbenadering? Tweede sekondêre vraag en hipotese: Wat is die verskil in Wiskundeprestasie voor en na die intervensie ten opsigte van die twee onderrigbenaderings? Derde sekondêre vraag en hipotese: Wat is die verskil in studieoriëntasie voor en na die intervensie ten opsigte van die twee onderrigbenaderings? Hierdie studie word beskou deur pragmatisme as ’n wêreldbeskouing en filosofiese fondasie aangesien pragmatisme die heel beste pas by die gemengde navorsingsmetode. Die konvergente navorsingsontwerp is die ideale navorsings-ontwerp vir hierdie studie aangesien dit die bekendste benadering tot die gemengde navorsingsmetode is. Vir die kwalitatiewe data-insameling is ek gebruik gemaak van fokusgroeponderhoude wat drie maal gehou is met beide die groepe, altesaam ses sessies. Daar was sewe leerders wat elk van die groepe verteenwoordig het, veertien leerders altesaam. Daar is gebruik gemaak van ’n individuele onderhoud met die Wiskundeonderwyseres aan die einde van die intervensie tydperk. Die data was geanaliseer deur inhoudsanalise. Die kwantitatiewe data is ingesamel deur die Studieoriëntasievraelys in Wiskunde (Primêr) (SOW(P)) en ook ’n formele wiskunde toets aan die begin en aan die einde van die intervensie tydperk. Daar was twintig leerders wat deelgeneem het aan die tradisionele groep en twintig leerders wat deelgeneem het aan die sosiaal-konstruktivistiese groep. Daar was altesaam veertig leerders betrokke by die studie. Die kwalitatiewe data-analise het uitgedraai op vier verskillende temas: faktore wat Wiskunde makliker maak vir leerders, faktore van Wiskunde wat vir leerders onaangenaam is, faktore van introspeksie en ook ander interessante faktore. Ek het ook observasies en addisionele data vanaf die Wiskundeonderwyseres verkry deur die individuele onderhoud. Vir die doeleindes van die kwantitatiewe data is gebruik gemaak van beskrywende sowel as inferensiële statistieke om die data te analiseer. Daar is gebruik gemaak van die paar-steekproef studente t-toets. Alles is dan na aanleiding van die data-analise bespreek en na aanleiding van my bevindinge en resultate is daar gevind dat daar wel ’n verskil is tussen die tradisionele onderrigmetode en die sosiaal-konstruktivistiese onderrigbenadering. Dit was ook duidelik dat daar ’n waarskynlike verskil tussen die voor-toets en die na-toets van die tradisionele sowel as die sosiaal-konstruktivistiese groep se Wiskundeprestasie is en dus is beide as statisties beduidend aanvaar. Wat die studieoriëntasie aanbetref het die uitkoms getoon dat daar geen verskil was tussen die voor-toets en die na-toets van die tradisionele groep nie, dus toon dit om nie statisties beduidend te wees nie . Daar was wel ’n waarskynlike verandering tussen die voor-toets en die na-toets van die sosiaal-konstruktivistiese groep se studie-oriëntasie en aanvaar ek dit dus as statisties beduidend. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2014 / Educational Psychology / unrestricted