Within postgraduate studies, learning is assessed through the examination of modules
making up a taught programme and the writing of a dissertation. However, research,
nationally and internationally, has shown that although students are generally able to
complete the modules making up a postgraduate programme successfully, often difficulty
arises in the writing of the dissertation which begins with the conceptualising and writing of
the research proposal. It seems that students are considered poorly equipped for
postgraduate study, which puts their academic success and completion of their studies in
jeopardy, particularly those for whom English is not a first language.
Since 1994 with wider access to higher education, a concern has arisen about National
figures for postgraduate throughput rates, which on average, are quite low. This current
research originated with concern about the unpreparedness of some postgraduate
students in a specific master‟s programme in a Faculty of Education at a South African
university and about offering them the foundations for the development of their academic
research writing, an aspect so vital to achieve success at this level. It seems that
programmes which incorporate academic writing are put into place in some honours
programmes (see Henning, Gravett & van Rensburg, 2005; Thomson, 2008 for South
African programmes) but once the student progresses to master‟s or doctoral level, this
does not seem to be the case.
The main aim of this study was to obtain insight and understanding of the demands of
academic writing at postgraduate level and to develop an effective intervention to assist in
the development of proficient academic research writing. Thus, the development of an
academic research writing intervention deemed most appropriate for postgraduates in
education was designed and developed to assist students during the first stages of their
research, that of conceptualising, writing and successfully defending the research
proposal. The premise is that during this first year of study, acquiring and developing
academic literacies, in order to become competent academic writers would provide the
scaffolding1 for the move into the second phase of the research process, that of academic
research writing.
Design Research was considered most appropriate for this research as it is
interventionist, iterative, process-focused, utility-oriented and theory-driven (Van den Akker, Gravemeijer, McKinney & Nieveen, 2006, p.5) and in addition, requires the
involvement of practitioners (Plomp, 2013, p. 20). The sample for this study was drawn
from a specific master‟s programme in education and consisted of students, the
supervision team and the academic research writing practitioner. A mixed methods
approach was used where data comprised quantitative data (questionnaire, evaluations
and assessments) and qualitative data (personal writing, evaluative writing, interviews and
assessments).
Findings emerging from the context of this particular master‟s programme point to a set of
design principles that inform the development of a model for academic research writing
which appears promising for supporting the postgraduate student effectively. It is hoped
that the findings emerging from the research will fill a gap in the literature and add to the
body of knowledge on postgraduate academic research writing. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / lk2014 / Science, Mathematics and Technology Education / PhD / Unrestricted
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:up/oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/43321 |
| Date | January 2014 |
| Creators | Dowse, Cilla |
| Contributors | Howie, Sarah J., cilla.dowse@gmail.com |
| Publisher | University of Pretoria |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Rights | © 2014 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. |
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