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Masters Degrees (Education, Development, Leadership and Management)

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10413/7169

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Browsing Masters Degrees (Education, Development, Leadership and Management) by Subject "Academic achievement."

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    The impact of psychosocial deprivation on the scholastic performance of grade seven learners.
    (2011) Naicker, Kalamathy.; Muribwathoho, Henry Nkhanedzeni.
    This research topic presents a discussion on psychosocial deprivation and how it impacts on learners academic performance. It is a case study guided by the following questions: To what extent does psychosocial deprivation influence scholastic performance of grade seven learners? How can the school counteract the effects of psychosocial deprivation? What forms of assistance do parents and teachers need in order to work together to benefit the learners? This is a quantitative study underpinned by the ecosystemic perspective as well as the social constructivist theory. The sample size consisted of seventy learners taken from a primary school which was later reduced to twenty eight learners. The findings of the study were lack of motivation, absenteeism, learning disabilities, difficulties learning English as a second language, stressful family life, poverty and the like were some of the factors that affect learners and eventually results in their poor academic performance. The learners’ environment or neighbourhood is seen as one of the many social contexts that shape children’s cognitive, social and emotional development. However the neighborhood context does not simply “imprint” itself on children, but can be mediated or moderated by other social contexts, in particular the family. Learners who struggle with schoolwork without receiving effective intervention often drop out of school and, as a consequence, have increasingly dire employment prospects. Many learners are invisible strugglers, falling through the cracks and being written off as not needing the extra effort and intervention that educators can provide. Schools, educators and education policy makers must strive to level the playing field by counteracting or minimizing the impact of socio-economic factors on learner’s academic performance by doing the following: Supplying educational materials timeously. Preparing syllabi suited to the age, level and language of learners. Provide ongoing learner support with the help of guidance counselors and social workers. Provide nutritious programmes to supplement those with inadequate diets. Parents and teachers should work together to promote teaching and learning.
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    Using an orientation programme to prepare first year medical students for a problem based curriculum : a South African case study.
    (2004) Appalasamy, Dorothy Monica.; Searle, Ruth Lesley.
    The Nelson R Mandela Medical School is currently implementing Curriculum 2001, which is based on integrated, student centred, problem and groupbased learning. In 2002 a three-week orientation Module was introduced to prepare students for Problem Based Learning (PBL). The aim of this programme was to assist first year students through the transition period from high school to university life and prepare them for a new way of learning. In the university context the word orientation has come to mean assisting students to become accustomed to the new environment of university education and to make the first few weeks as friendly and informative as possible so that this transition is made effectively. It is also a socialisation process whereby students get to know what the expectations of the departments and the university are as well as being an introduction to the values and standards of the group the student is entering. For the students the change from school where they are accustomed to a particular approach to learning is a huge step to a tertiary institution where the approach to learning is different. The purpose of this study was: 1) To ascertain what students understood about the new curriculum before they embarked on it and did orientation help them to understand it better? (2) In what ways did the students perceive the orientation programme as a help to prepare first year medical students and especially for PBL? (3) What particular aspects of the orientation programme do students perceive help them in a new situation and did this prepare them for a new way of learning? (4) In what ways do staff perceive the contribution of orientation to the new PBL curriculum? Both qualitative and quantitative data was gathered from questionnaires, interviews and focus group sessions with first and second year students and staff. The first year students agreed that the orientation Programme did assist them to prepare for a new way of learning. Preparing students for a new way of learning and assistance with making the many transitions into university life is very important and necessary if students are to be successful.