M.Com. (Industrial Psychology) / The twentieth century is marked by fast developing communities which are currently moving into a new era of social, political, economic and cultural change. These developments include, among other, increased economic activities, over-population and an international tendency towards political conflict. In the South African environment these factors, together with the socio-economic structure and heterogeneous racial composition place an ever increasing demand on the occupational and organisational environment...

M.A. (Industrial Psychology) / The object of this study is to determine the correlation between selfconcepts selfactualization and anxiety on the one hand and -achievement motivation, as applicable to persons in middle management positions in the mining industry. Four different psychological questionnaires were used that is the Achievement motivation questionnaire of Malan (1978) as adjusted by Pottas and Lessing (1979L the Selfconcept questionnaire of Vrey (1974)s the IPAT Anxiety scale and the Selfrealization questionnaire of Osrin {1972}. The four questionnaires were administered to 110 middle-managers in the mining industry. It was found that the sUbjects obtained relatively high scores on the self-images selfrealization s achievement motivation and the three components of achievement motivations namely selfdetermination, the urge to complete uncompleted tasks and goal directedness. The scores obtained on the anxiety scale were relatively low. It was further found that-there existed a negative linear correlation between anxiety and achievement motivation,- in contrast with the initial hipothesis, namely that a curvilinear correlation exists between the two variables. Selfconcept and selfrealization both yielded a positive linear correlation with achievement motivation and its three components; which confirms the hypothesis. It was found that anxiety formed a negative correlation with all the variables. A positive linear correlation was obtained between selfrealization and selfconcept.

This study attempts to explicate the observable differences in the rate of upward social mobility among the various ethnic groups in terms of a configuration of motives. The results of earlier studies investigating the relationship between achievement motivation and social mobility had indicated that the achievement motivation by itself is not sufficient to satisfactorily explicate the problem of differential rate of social mobility. It has been suggested that it may be necessary to incorporate the affiliation motive as the second motivational factor affecting social mobility. This study proposes to pursue this suggestion further. The general hypotheses to be tested here are as follows. 1. Ethnic groups vary in their motivational orientation, and they can be classified into groups of similar motivational configuration (motivational groups) determined by the relative strengths of the tendencies to approach success and to avoid failure, the two components of achievement motivation, and the affiliation motive. 2. These motivational groups vary in their levels of occupational and educational aspirations which are assumed to be indices of potential mobility. 3. Because of the feeling of alienation, the affiliation motive would be stronger among the members of the ethnic minority than among the members of the culturally dominant group, and it is expected that among the former the affiliation motive is more significant as a determinant of aspiration levels than the achievement motive. The sample consisted of all available Grade 11 and 12 boys from three Vancouver schools. The test consisting of the Thermatic Apperception Test (TAT), Mandler-Sarasen Test Anxiety Questionnaire (TAQ), and a set of questions designed to establish subjects' ethnicity, social class, occupational and educational aspirations were administered in a number of separate group sessions in each of the schools. Both the TAT and TAQ were scored in accordance with the relevant scoring manuals and the occupational aspiration score was determined by a modified version of the system used by Rosen. The results are in general not conclusive. The hypothesized relationship between motivational configuration and occupational aspiration is apparent although the trend is not statistically significant. There is, however, no apparent relationship between motivational configuration and educational aspirations. The results further show that when class is taken into account the aspiration scores of the members of the upper class is related neither to achievement nor to affiliation. The question of the relative strengths of affiliation and achievement motives also remains unresolved. It was concluded that the theory of achievement motivation may find useful applications in the problems of socio-economic phenomena, but these results indicate the improvements in both theoretical and methodological areas must be made in order to obtain more reliable results. / Business, Sauder School of / Graduate

M.Ed. (Curriculum Studies) / This study arises from the common perceptive of teachers and coaches that the pupil who actively participates in sport and other extramural activities, are the better academic achievers as well. Education is aimed at the total development of the child (this includes the physical, intellectual, spiritual and social aspects of his/her development.) Besides the everyday personal questions and problems that form part of a pupil's life, the pupil is also expected to develop his/her physical capabilities, build up self-confidence and in the process acquire dignity and a sense of self. At the same time it is also expected that the pupil achieve academically. The study was carried out in two ways. Firstly, a literary survey was undertaken, dealing with child development in a sosiopedagogic perspective, with the accent falling on the important role that sport plays in t~e child's quality of life. Secondly, the literature survey serves as a foundation for the empiric research that was done by means of a questionnaire, to establish whether there is any connection between activity/achievement in sport and other extramural activities and the pupil's educational progress which is the sole purpose of this study.

Submitted to the FaCUlty of Education in fulfilment of the requirements of MASTER OF EDUCATION In the Department of Educational Planning and Administration of the University of Zululand, 1988. / The investigator had noted that performance of pupils, especially in standard 10, had not expectations despite the application of measures supervision, inspection, guidance, in-service circulars and distance training of teachers. Secondary risen to such as training, It became clear to the researcher that factors within society in relation to achievement of secondary school pupils should be researched so as to form a basis on which measures at guidance, pupil assistance, instruction, teaching and supervision can be carried out.

A dissertation submitted in the Faculty of Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a Masters degree in Educational Psychology at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2012. / Higher education institutions in South Africa report dismal student graduation rates as a norm. The South African survey 2002-2003 revealed that South Africa has the highest number of higher education students in sub-Saharan Africa, but that less than two students in every ten actually graduate (Page, Loots & Toit, 2005). A similar trend is evident in American universities. The Times Higher Education Supplement reported that one in every four students drops out in the first year, and that only 54% of low income students actually graduate in six years (Marcus, 2004). There is a paucity of research on the determinants of academic success among undergraduate students at South African universities, for the present study the researcher intended to determine some factors which contribute to poor academic achievement among undergraduate students at a tertiary institution, particularly at the University of Zululand. This study used a qualitative methodology to identify the factors that contribute to students’ poor academic performance. Ten students of the University of Zululand took part in the study. A semi-structured interview was used with each participant to collect rich and reliable data and content analysis was employed for data analysis purposes. The findings indicated that most participants were affected by external factors as compared to their internal locus of control. Some of the factors that were found to be negatively related to academic achievement are: Financial difficulties, enrolment, political affiliation, and unavailability of lecturers to students. However, help-seeking has been shown to have positive impact on students’ performance. The study concluded with suggestions for practice and for further research. Further research on students’ performance could be conducted on a larger scale to obtain better results.

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Education in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Education in the Department of Educational Psychology and Special Needs at the University Of Zululand, South Africa, 2015 / There is compelling evidence that parental involvement positively influences children‟s academic achievement. Its benefits occur across all socio-economic classes. This study sought to establish parental involvement in grade 7 learners‟ achievement in Empangeni in the uMhlathuze District, KwaZulu-Natal. The attribution theory was used not only to substantially explain the status of parental involvement in uMhlathuze District, but also to generate strategies to promote parents‟ participation in their children‟s school education. Open-ended questions for school management teams and for parents were used in this study covering three primary schools in three settings. Respondents were selected through the use of random sampling in the three schools (one rural school, one township school, and one multiracial school). A total of 75 participants were selected. This study confirms that parental involvement has an effect on learner performance. The empirical findings indicate that parental involvement alone is not sufficient in the achievement of learners. It can therefore be concluded that parental involvement alone does not lead to the improvement of learner achievement. There could be other factors associated with academic achievement such as learner motivation, Intelligent Quotient (IQ), Emotional Intelligence/Quotient (EQ) and teachers‟ support which could also be at play. It seemed to be the case that children coming from rural schools sometimes do not perform well because they lack facilities and infrastructure. However, no such research analysis has been undertaken to support or disprove this hypothesis. This study recommends further investigation as this can be another gap that needs attention from researchers in the field.

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of MASTERS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY at the UNIVERSITY OF ZULULAND, 1997. / This study examined the impact of home-environment on pupils' academic achievement. The first aim was to find out the association, if any, between parental structure and pupils' academic achievement. The second aim was to find out the relationship, if any, between parent-occupational status and pupils' academic achievement. The third aim was to find out the relationship, if any, between parental-involvement and pupils' academic achievement. The fourth aim was to discover the association, if any, between parental-managed learning programmes and pupils' academic achievement. The findings reveal that there is consistent relationship between parental-structure and pupils' academic achievement. Two-parent families are the most influential variable on pupils' academic achievement. There is a relationship between parent-occupational status and pupils' academic achievement. The type of job the parent is doing has an impact on child's academic performance. The study showed that pupils bom of professional parents, obtain highest scores on academic performance. There is a relationship between parentai-invoivement and pupils' academic achievement. Children, whose parents show high level of involvement, perform better in their academic tasks than those children whose parents are not involved in school matters. There is a relationship between parental-managed learning programmes and pupils' academic achievement. Parental two-way communication with the school, enhances pupils' academic performance.

Submitted in fulfillment for the requirements of the Degree of Master of Education in the Department of Didactics in the Faculty of Education at the University of Zululand, 1996. / The aims of this study were: • to investigate the didactic causes of scholastic failure in primary schools; and • to suggest, in the light of findings obtained, didactically justifiable guidelines for reducing the failure rate in primary schools. To address these concerns the investigation was underpinned by the following hypothesis: the principal didactic causes of scholastic failure in primary schools centre upon the ineffective application of socialisation, individuaiisation, perception, motivation and evaluation as didactic principles. In order to combat the problem of fragmentation caused by an overemphasis on empirical research while theoretically engaging concepts as revealed in recent research findings are often disregarded, this investigation concentrated entirely on literary research. A comprehensive study was conducted of recent primary and secondary sources related to didactic causes of scholastic failure. Data collated from different types of research which were conducted, tried out and tested by other researchers were blended, integrated and analyzed according to didactic criteria articulated in the hypothesis. The findings revealed that scholastic failure in primary schools revolved around five major causes. First: inadequate situation analysis prevents effective psychological and educational diagnosis of (earning disabilities; temporary poor scholastic achievement of average learners are sometimes erroneously diagnosed by the teachers or orthodidacticians as being caused by permanent learning disabilities. Second: inattention to language skills causes many primary school children to be at a learning disadvantage; definite connections have been shown to exist between scholasticfaiiureand speech deficiencies, defective hand writing, spelling disabilities as well as reading and writing limitations. Third: inefficient teaching styles result in inadequacies in the integral, interactive parts which the child and his or her teacher play in the education situation. Fourth: weak classroom management generates disruptive behaviour, distraction, hyper-activity resulting in corporal punishment which in turn lead to scholastic failure. Lastly: lack of teacher self-evaluation creates a situation in which classroom actions are often not guided by accountable personal teaching theories and didactic principles. In the light of the above findings, the recommendations flowing from the research include, inter alia: that bridging module readiness classes be established for children turning five years of age and that professionally qualified educators be pfaced in charge of these children; • that more emphasis should be placed on peer group teaching in primary schools; • that teachers and parents work closer together to help, guide and shape the child's attitude towards school and that self-improvement among teachers should be promoted through in-service education.

Student Number : 9711192Y - MA Research Report - School of Human and Community Development - Faculty of Humanities / This research considered factors that predict academic achievement in Grade 8 and 9 learners. The learners in this study were categorised primarily based on their first language. As a researcher in South Africa one is not faced with a division between monolinguals and bilinguals, but rather is forced to classify language users based on their ‘home’ or ‘first’ language. Thus learners whose first language was English fell into the first-language (L1) group, while learners whose first language was not English fell into the second-language (L2) group Academic achievement was defined in this study as the marks obtained by learners in their school subjects. This method of assessing students and learners is both pervasive and essential in the determination of academic potential, and the subsequent determination of future employment and educational opportunities. The results of these school achievement tests were compared with results obtained from the Differential Aptitude Test Form S (DAT-S) English Version. The DAT-S is an assessment instrument used to determine academic potential. This test was developed in South Africa, and normed against Afrikaans and English speaking students (Vosloo, Coetzee & Claassen, 2000). The test was chosen for use in this study because “the kind of information obtained from the differential aptitude tests can … facilitate judgements regarding potential success in the course of a career” (Vosloo, Coetzee & Claassen, 2000 p. 1). The results of this comparison were used to examine factors that determine success in an academic sphere, and which underlying proficiencies as predicted by the DAT-S may have contributed to this success.