Magister Educationis - MEd (AL (Adult Learning and Global Change)

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Browsing by Subject "Academic integration"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    Institutional commitments, integration and student persistence in the NCV Safety in Society at a TVET College in the Western Cape
    (UWC, 2020) Jansen, Henry Hermanus; Groener, Zelda
    Student dropout, certification and retention rate has played a pivotal role for academic institutions globally. There are various factors that affect student persistence which inevitably leads to a student’s failure to graduate. These factors may also result in voluntary withdrawal from institutions which could impact on the status and funding of tertiary institutions. To deal with such critical issues, there is a need to understand the reasons for the decline in student retention and the factors that influence goals and student departure. The aim of the current study was to explore the factors that may or may not contribute to persistence, which eventually has an influence on the retention rate. In the current qualitative study, Tinto’s longitudinal model was comprehensively explored. Therefore, the current study was located within Tinto’s longitudinal model of student departure. The researcher was prompted to explore the factors that influence student goals, institutional commitments, social and academic integration and persistence. The South African government expected that the role of the TVET colleges would become the cornerstone of the skills development landscape. According to the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET, 2013b), it was estimated that the growth in the sector would escalate as follows: the projection of 345 000 students in 2010, 630 000 students in 2013. The total projection for 2030 was that 2.5 million students would be certified (DHET, 2013b). Unfortunately, the 2030 projection has been adversely affected by the poorly performing institution and the high dropout rate. (DHET, 2013b) Therefore, the setting for the research was a Technical Vocational College in Cape Town which offers the National Certificate Vocational NCV. The single institutional study linking academic integration, goal influencers, institutional commitments social and academic integration and persistence was based in a college in Cape Town. Thus the study has an overarching research question and three sub-questions. The college was selected conveniently and the researcher purposively selected the participants. A total of twenty participants (20) were interviewed after providing assent and consent. The qualitative design utilized in the current study allowed the researcher to identify themes. Therefore, thematic analysis was employed in the data analysis section. The researcher is currently an insider in this sector. The unique experience and academic background of the researcher has afforded the opportunity to ethically gain access to past results in the TVET, specifically, in a NCV programme at a Cape Town College.
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    Intercultural peer group interactions, integration and student persistence between Nigerian students and students from other countries at a university in the Western Cape
    (University of the Western Cape, 2018) Babalola, Marian O; Groener, Zelda
    As a Nigerian, I became interested in investigating how Nigerian students, from different cultural backgrounds are able to integrate and persist in their academic programmes. I used Tinto‟s (1993) Longitudinal Model of Institutional Departure as a foundation for my conceptual framework. I adopted a qualitative research approach as this provides opportunities for interpretations by both participants and the researcher. I purposively selected 20 Nigerian students who were at different stages of their Master‟s programmes at a university in the Western Cape province of South Africa, but only 12 students were available and interviewed. The data reveals a significant relationship between intercultural peer group interactions, formal social integration and student persistence, while there was no significant relationship between intercultural peer group interaction, informal social integration and student persistence. Furthermore, informal social integration was partially related to formal academic integration and student persistence. Finally, it emerged that informal academic integration was also strongly linked to social integration and academic success. Due to the limiting nature of a research paper, the research has been restricted to the Nigerian experience to allow an insider perspective.
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    Peer group interaction, academic integration and persistence in a foundation programme at a university in the Western Cape
    (UWC, 2020) George, Rodrique E; Groener, Z
    This research paper is based on an investigation of the factors that enabled final year students to persist in a four-year degree programme (Foundation Programme). This study is important given that students who generally enrol for this programme terminate their studies before completion. This is a qualitative study in which interviewing was employed to collect the data. The conceptual framework is underpinned by Tinto’s model of student persistence with specific focus on student involvement through peer group interaction in the formal structure of the classroom. It also hones in on informal engagement which goes beyond the nature of the classroom. It further explores the relevance of academic integration, which encompasses a student’s ability to become well-grounded intellectually in the sphere of the institution in order to respond in a critical and systematic way to its educational demands. In addition, it further interrogates how peer group interaction and academic integration impact students’ ability to persist with their studies. Thus, the findings confirm that relationships exist between peer group interaction, academic integration, and persistence.
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    Student persistence among foreign students at a faith-based higher education institution in the Western Cape
    (University of Western Cape, 2021) Raymond, Romeo Ernest; Groener, Zelda
    The notion of student persistence is one that remains a topic for lifelong learning. Many scholars pursue an understanding of this phenomenon yet it remains an unsaturated subject for further studies. Furthermore, many countries embrace international students in their universities and colleges for various reasons. South Africa is no different. The intake of international students at this particular institution of interest is mainly faith-based; many of these students are associated with the same faith or have some religious background. Combining the two phenomena (persistence and international studentship) seems an area that could open doors to new knowledge. So I ask the question: “Do foreign students persist more consistently than local students/nationals? And if so, why?” This then formed the basis for my key question in this study: “What are the relationships between social integration and student persistence?”