A Comparison of South African and International First-Year Students’ Counselling Needs and Preferred Counselling Sources

2012 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 106-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lionel Nicholas ◽  
Maria Damianova ◽  
Mzamo Ntantiso
Keyword(s):  
International Students ◽  
South African ◽  
First Year ◽  
African Students ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Learning Skill ◽  
Counselling Needs ◽  
First Year University ◽  
Personal Career ◽  
Structured Questionnaire

This study investigated the personal, career and learning skill needs of first-year university students, their preferred counselling sources, and compared South African and international students. Respondents completed a structured questionnaire (N = 567) with more than half reporting a moderate to high need for assistance with their concerns. Women had a significantly greater need for assistance with the bulk of listed concerns than men. International students had a significantly greater need for assistance than South African students and were particularly concerned about xenophobia. These results may assist administrators and counsellors to develop strategies to address identified student needs.

scholarly journals Enlivening pedagogical methods in the classroom through visual arts

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kim Berman ◽  
Shonisani Netshia
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Visual Arts ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
First Year ◽  
African Students ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Race And Class ◽  
Creative Commons ◽  
The Arts ◽  
Pedagogical Methods

The call for ‘decolonising’ the curricula by the #FeesMustFall student-led protest movement, in response to an increase of fees at South African universities from 2015, presents educators with the challenge of engaging more relevant methodologies for teaching and learning local content that are appropriate for revised approaches in higher education. Our question in response to this challenge is: how do we enliven curricula and develop pedagogical approaches that can engender a sense of belonging for incoming first-year students and prevent polarising tendencies in the classroom? The visual arts are well positioned to disrupt divisions and stereotypes and offer creative ways to explore patriarchal and colonial power relations. Arts provide safe and empathetic ways for incoming students to gain perspective on their situations from both insider and outsider positions, and to develop a compassionate and enlarged view of the world. In this paper, we introduce some definitions and theoretical positions of decolonising frameworks in the classroom and present a series of first-year classroom interventions as examples of praxis. It is our contention that the arts create the conditions for equalising a classroom space through directing visual processes to engage issues such as the polarisation of race and class. Students are able to engage with ways of responding to their own understandings of how they see themselves as African students. How to cite this article: BERMAN, Kim; NETSHIA, Shonisani. Enlivening pedagogical methods in the classroom through visual arts. Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in the South, v. 2, n. 1, p. 4-20, Apr. 2018. Available at: http://sotl-south-journal.net/?journal=sotls&page=article&op=view&path%5B%5D=26   This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Sex-Related Differences in Spatial Ability in a Group of South African Students

1991 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stanley Oosthuizen
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
South African ◽  
Spatial Ability ◽  
First Year ◽  
African Students ◽  
Spatial Differences ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
First Year University

Many recent studies have reported a convergence in the scores of males and females on spatial tests; however, these studies also indicate different amounts of convergence. There are indications that spatial differences continue to exist. It was decided to study such differences in spatial ability on two different tests for two groups of South African first-year university students ( ns = 60), one from arts and one from the sciences. In all comparisons statistically significant differences were found between the sexes.

scholarly journals Validating strengths use and deficit correction behaviour scales for South African first-year students

2017 ◽  
Vol 43 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Karina Mostert ◽  
Bianca Theron ◽  
Leon T. De Beer
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
University Students ◽  
Measurement Invariance ◽  
South African ◽  
Factor Structure ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Strengths Use ◽  
Proactive Behaviour ◽  
First Year University

Orientation: It is well known that the first year at university can be very challenging and stressful for students. While some students mainly depend on the university to assist them through this time, other students want to proactively manage this stressful period themselves by focusing on their strengths and developing in their areas of weakness. Two new scales measuring proactive strengths use and deficit correction behaviour have recently been developed for employees. However, the psychometric properties of these new scales have not yet been tested on first-year students in the South African context.Research purpose: To examine the validity, measurement invariance and reliability of the proactive strengths use and deficit correction scales for South African first-year university students.Motivation for the study: In order to cope in the demanding university environment, first-year university students need to develop and apply proactive strategies, including using their strengths and developing in their areas of weaknesses. Several studies have indicated that proactive behaviour, specifically strengths use and deficit correction behaviour, lead to favourable outcomes such as higher engagement, lower burnout and more life satisfaction. Therefore, it is important to validate scales that measure these constructs for first-year students.Research design, approach and method: A cross-sectional research approach was used. A sample of South African first-year university students aged between 18 and 23 years (N = 776) was collected. The two scales were tested for their factor structure, measurement invariance, reliability, and convergent and criterion validity.Main findings: A two-factor structure was found for the strengths use and deficit correction behaviour scales. Measurement invariance testing showed that the two scales were interpreted similarly by participants from different campuses and language groups. Cronbach’s alpha coefficients (α ≥ 0.70) indicated that both scales were reliable. In addition, the scales demonstrated convergent validity (comparing them with a general strengths use and proactive behaviour scale). Strengths use and deficit correction behaviour both predicted student burnout, student engagement and life satisfaction, with varying strengths of the relationships for strengths use and deficit correction behaviour.Practical implications: Strengths use and deficit correction behaviour could enable students to manage study demands and enhance well-being. Students will experience favourable outcomes from proactively using strengths and developing their weaknesses, including reduced burnout and enhanced engagement and life satisfaction. Universities and lecturers can be informed, which allows them to develop support structures and provide students with opportunities to apply their strengths and develop thier deficits.Contribution/value-add: The present study adds to the limited research available on initiating proactive behaviour to use strengths and improve deficits for university students by validating two new scales. This could help in facilitating positive outcomes for first-year university students within the South African context.

scholarly journals An investigation of the perceptions of South African students with regards to accelerated learning courses

2021 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
L. M. Van Rooyen ◽  
J. M. Ontong ◽  
Z. L. Mitchell
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Accelerated Learning ◽  
Social Implications ◽  
First Year ◽  
African Students ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
The Social ◽  
Winter School ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Academic Year

The cost of repeating a module has both financial and social implications. The social implications include increased workloads when repeating a module and students often not being able to graduate within the prescribed minimum course period. A possible solution for this is the use of accelerated learning courses, in the form of summer or winter schools. These schools provide students with another opportunity to pass a module, during the summer or winter recess, using an accelerated learning mode, and consequently complete modules with prerequisites of failed modules in the following year. Using an accelerated learning approach, a summer or winter school covers a large portion of the content in semester or year modules in a shortened timeframe outside the normal academic period. Using a questionnaire approach, the various perceptions of first year students at the end of the academic year regarding the use of these schools were obtained and analysed. The timing of the end of the academic year allows students to familiarise themselves with the various accelerated learning courses offered to them throughout the academic year. The findings suggest that students have a positive perception of these schools despite most of them not having had previous experience of completing an accelerated learning course. Although previous literature has indicated that students are hesitant to complete finance-related modules in an accelerated learning format versus traditional semester and year modules, the perceptions indicate that students are willing to engage in financial modules, with the students identifying that the benefits of these accelerated learning courses exceed the cost. The findings suggest that students who are presented with various non-academic obstacles throughout the traditional module are able to use summer or winter schools as a way to reduce exposure to these obstacles and complete an accelerated learning course. The use of these schools therefore presents an area for module developers to consider when implementing these schools as a way to improve throughput rates, thereby contributing in a positive way to students’ financial and social health.

Computer Ownership and Usage as Predictors of Computer Literacy of South African Students

2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 638-664
Author(s):  
Pieter Blignaut ◽  
Engela Dednam ◽  
Tlholohelo Nkalai
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Computer Literacy ◽  
First Year ◽  
African Students ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Software Applications ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Diverse Backgrounds ◽  
The University ◽  
Better Than

Most of our first-year students were born after 1995 and belong to the generation of “digital natives”. They are perceived as being comfortable with technology and active on social media for a large part of every day. However, students at the University of the Free State (ufs) come from diverse backgrounds and the typical characteristicsof their contemporaries do not necessarily apply to them.Students completed questionnaires about their experience with and exposure to various software applications before commencement of the first computer literacy module at the mentioned institution. Students’ performance in three formal assessments during the semester were used as dependent variable to determine whether prior ownership and exposure to computers gave them an advantage over their peers who did not have access to computers.Students owning a computer or who had access to someone else’s computer performed significantly better than those without access to a computer. The Internet andmsWord were found to be among the most used applications prior to entering a university, and they also proved to be predictive of the performance of students in a computer literacy module throughout the semester. The amount of usage did, however,not make any significant difference with regard to the students’ performance.

Use of the “Famous Sayings” Test in South Africa

1971 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 135-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harald-Edwin Schmidt
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Sex Education ◽  
College Of Education ◽  
First Year ◽  
Education Students ◽  
African Students ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Education Group ◽  
Two Samples ◽  
The Mean

The Famous Sayings test consists of four measures: (CM) Conventional Mores, (HO) Hostility, (FF) Fear of Failure, and (SA) Social Acquiescence. The test was applied to two samples of South African students, 338 College of Education students whose data were analyzed according to sex, education and age; and a nearly all male group of 110 first-year students of the Department of Architecture, whose data were combined for analysis. The mean scores for each total group on two of the four scales, CM and SA, were considerably higher for the college group. The correlations among four scales for the two groups were similar and significant ( p ≤ .01). The item-analyses (internal consistency) performed for both groups show similar reliability coefficients for CM and SA but lower reliability for College of Education group on FF and HO. On the whole, the measures are sufficiently reliable and independent for screening purposes.

scholarly journals Application of Cannabis Use Intention Questionnaire (CUIQ) to First Year University Students

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 11
Author(s):  
Inês Teodoro ◽  
Hugo Torres ◽  
Nuno Venâncio ◽  
Guilhermina Moutinho ◽  
Maria Deolinda Auxtero
Keyword(s):  
Public Health Problem ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Cannabis Use ◽  
Self Control ◽  
First Year ◽  
Major Public Health Problem ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Validated Questionnaire ◽  
Intent To Use ◽  
First Year University

Cannabis is the illegal drug most used worldwide. Its long-term use increases the risk of depression and schizophrenia, causing a major public health problem. A validated questionnaire was applied to first year students of Instituto Universitário Egas Moniz to assess their intention regarding cannabis use. They do not consider cannabis to be much associated with well-being, they slightly consider the opinion of relatives, and they show a low intent to use the drug, believing themselves to have strong self-control. Scores are above average for 18-y.o. Portuguese students, except for belief in self-control.

scholarly journals Qualitative Development of Students’ Digital Skills by Integrating a Spreadsheet Software in First Year Introduction to Engineering and Seminar Course

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (18) ◽  
pp. 213
Author(s):  
Aziatul Niza Binti Sadikin ◽  
Azizul Azri Bin Mustaffa ◽  
Hasrinah Binti Hasbullah ◽  
Zaki Yamani Bin Zakaria ◽  
Mohd Kamaruddin Bin Abd Hamid ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Problem Based Learning ◽  
First Year ◽  
Microsoft Excel ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Learning Skill ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Digital Skills ◽  
Data Source ◽  
Spreadsheet Software ◽  
Development Of Students

The Introduction to Engineering (ITE) and Industrial Seminar and Profession (ISP) courses conducted at School of Chemical and Energy Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, are integrated courses which implement the Cooperative Problem-based Learning (CPBL) methods in the same semester. Based on this integrated courses, the main aim of this paper is to investigate the qualitative impact of spreadsheet hands-on seminar on the first year students' digital skill. At the beginning of the semester, students are given sustainability-based project to work on, which requires them to collect and to report the data in a series of presentations and written reports. In order to present those data, they need to use analysis tools such as a spreadsheet software. The students are introduced with some in-depth applications of the Microsoft Excel software through the seminar sessions in the ISP course. With the knowledge that the students gain, they are expected to implement it in the CPBL project. A qualitative approach has been adopted to implement the study. Student’s reflections were used as the data source to identify common attributes that they have managed to gain from seminar sessions. This study has found that all students had primarily learned about digital skills. They perceived hand-on activity during the seminar as a good platform to acquire knowledge on basic calculation and developed learning skill on Excel. Moreover, students recognized the skills they are learning will be useful in other courses and future careers.

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