The overall aim of this study was to design an integrated and holistic programme for
the academic support and development of non-traditional undergraduate medical
students. The study was motivated by the need to increase the retention rate of
these students. The conceptual framework of this study is based on the theories of
Spady, Bean and Tinto. These theories were used to design a retention theory called
âCircles of Progressionâ for non-traditional students in the South African context. As
a framework, this theory has guided the empirical investigation and the outcome of
this study.
The study adopted a case study design to gain an in-depth understanding of the
non-traditional undergraduate medical students in the medical school at the
University of the Free State. A mixed methods approach was used to conduct the
study. Data was collected by means of are a questionnaire and extensive
engagement. These methods allowed triangulation and improved the reliability and
validity of data and findings.
From this study, it became clear that student retention is not due to an isolated
factor, but it is a result of a whole range of interrelated factors and therefore there is
no one single explanation and solution to student attrition. Based on the literature,
generalisations about student retention can be misleading because each country,
each institution and each student is unique. South Africa, for instance, cannot be
compared to other countries because of its previous political history, its uneven
schooling system and the different social backgrounds of the various population xixgroups.
Moreover, issues related to retention in the different higher education
institutions will not be precisely the same because of different educational systems
that existed before political transformation started in 1994. Unfortunately, there is a
tendency among both academics and non-academics to provide a single bold answer
when asked why students do not perform well. One example of a common answer is
that âstudents do not studyâ. This answer is often provided without even considering
other interrelated factors. The question is âdo institutions understand the nature of
the problem?â
If institutions and the key stakeholders in these institutions could understand the
nature of problems faced by non-traditional students, especially undergraduate
medical students, they could collaborate, communicate and work together as a team
to provide an integrated and holistic programme of action to support and develop
these students and therefore, increase their retention rate. The programme of action
as proposed in this study could start even before the students enter the university
and continue up to their clinical years where they begin to specialise and become
professionalised in the medical field.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:ufs/oai:etd.uovs.ac.za:etd-11192010-140821 |
| Date | 19 November 2010 |
| Creators | Moagi-Jama, Mpho Priscilla |
| Contributors | Dr AA Beylefeld, Prof MLE Monnapula-Mapesela |
| Publisher | University of the Free State |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | en-uk |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.uovs.ac.za//theses/available/etd-11192010-140821/restricted/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to University Free State or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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