Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

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Browsing by Subject "Academic performance"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    Exploring student engagement practices at a South African university: student engagement as reliable predictor of academic performance
    (SUN, 2016) Schreiber, B.; Yu, Derek
    Student engagement is one avenue to explore how the experiences within and beyond the classroom impact student persistence behaviours. This article contributes to the sparse research in South Africa on the correlates of student engagement with academic performance at a Historically Disadvantaged University. The results suggest that engagement practices at this university differ across race and gender and that given the South African history we are able to generalise onto the South African higher education system. Influences on persistence and academic success are complex and require a comprehensive approach which embraces the entire context into which student persistence behaviours are embedded. Student engagement patterns are reliable predictors of academic performance and the trends across race and gender suggest that engagement and academic performance remain differentiated along race and gender.
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    Factors explaining the academic success of second-year economics students: an exploratory analysis
    (Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 2011) Horn, Petronella; Jansen, Ada; Yu, Derek
    Factors influencing the academic success of first-year economics students have been intensely researched. Lecture and tutorial attendance, age, gender, as well as matriculation results have been identified as significant in explaining academic performance. The academic success of senior students, however, has received less attention in South Africa. This paper presents the findings of an investigation into the academic performance of second-year economics students at Stellenbosch University. Using a Heckman two-step model, the study analyses whether the factors explaining first-year academic success are applicable in the second year or if other factors are relevant. The results suggest that most matriculation subjects become statistically insignificant for second-year students, whereas lecture and tutorial attendance remain important contributors to academic success. Furthermore, academic performance in the first year is an important determinant of success in the second year.
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    Understanding diversity as a framework for improving student throughput
    (Maastricht University, 2007) McMillan, Wendy
    INTRODUCTION: Literature suggests that a diverse body of healthcare graduates could extend health service delivery. However, the literature also indicates that the throughput of minority, working class, and historically disadvantaged students is problematic. Poor throughput is attributed to the way that university environments alienate some students. This brief communication highlights lessons learned from exploratory interviews with four first-year oral hygiene students at a university in South Africa. It provides insight into the issues that contribute to academic success and failure. METHODS: Semi-structured, individual interviews, to gain information regarding students’ university academic experiences were conducted. Enablers and barriers to learning identified in the literature were used to capture themes. FINDINGS: The following three themes emerged: educational identity, language and finances. The analysis showed how a white middle class student recognized practices that are rewarded at university and how three, working-class, black students experienced tension between their expectations and experiences and the university culture. However, far from being victims, these students provided suggestions on how their transition might be facilitated. CONCLUSION: Evidence suggests that these students wanted both to be apprenticed into the new way of doing things while having their differences acknowledged. A model for education that initiates learners and also challenges the culture of power is suggested.
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    ‘Your thrust is to understand’ - how academically successful students learn
    (Taylor & Francis (Routledge), 2010) McMillan, Wendy
    The article sets out to understand how academically successful students learn. Self-regulated learning theory is used as a lens to explicate the learning strategies adopted by a cohort of academically successful dentistry students. Data was collected from self-report interviews, observations of individual student’s learning in a quasi-realistic context, and post-observation interviews. Discussion focuses on the cognitive and metacognitive strategies adopted by these students, and highlights the way in which positive motivation supported their use of these strategies, especially when learning was challenging. The paper concludes by drawing on these findings to argue for appropriate ways to support effective learning for all students.