Although access to South African universities has increased, academic persistence among
undergraduate students remains low. Three cross-sectional studies were conducted to
investigate the underlying psychosocial and social identity factors that influence academic
persistence among undergraduate students at a South African university. Studies 1, 2, and 3
demonstrated that academic adjustment, academic motivation and identification with the
academic department are prominent factors in predicting academic persistence. Studies 1 and
2 supported the hypothesis that students who highly identified with the university/academic
department were more likely to adjust to the university environment and to be academically
motivated and academically persistent. Study 3 confirmed that students who highly identified
with the academic department were more likely to adjust to the university environment and to
persist academically. The studies also revealed that the relationship between identification
with the university/academic department and academic persistence via academic adjustment
and academic motivation was conditional on whether students were from historically
underrepresented or overrepresented racial groups (Studies 1 and 2) and whether students
were first-generation or continuing-generation students (Study 3). These results underscore
the importance of psychosocial and social identity factors on academic persistence among
undergraduate students. / Psychology / D. Phil (Psychology)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:unisa/oai:uir.unisa.ac.za:10500/27382 |
| Date | 01 1900 |
| Creators | Silinda, Fortunate Tintswalo |
| Contributors | Brubacher, Michael R. |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 1 online resource (xv, 165 pages ) : illustrations, application/pdf |
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