Magister Educationis - MEd / Student persistence is a thorn area which did not receive much publication in Namibia and
South Africa. Many research focused on why students fail to persist in higher education
opposed to why they succeed. This research paper mainly investigated the relationships
between external communities, social and academic integration and student persistence
among distance students. I used Tinto's theory of student persistence at institutions of higher
learning as my theoretical approach. The study employed a qualitative approach with a
phenomenological design. I collected data by interviewing senior distance students at a
certain public university in Southern Africa.
The findings of this research revealed that the majority of students are self-driven which gave
an impression that self -motivation and intentions of participants contribute significantly to
student persistence. Indications are that informal peer group support contributes considerably
to student persistence. The overall outcomes suggest that support from family members and
employers positively influence students' academic progress and success. This study generally
suggests that there is a positive relationship between external communities and student
persistence opposed to what many scholars suggested.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uwc/oai:etd.uwc.ac.za:11394/6507 |
| Date | January 2018 |
| Creators | Niitembu-Nehemia, Martha Megumbo |
| Contributors | Groener, Zelda |
| Publisher | University of the Western Cape |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | University of the Western Cape |
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