The Moderator Effect of Cognitive Modifiability on a Traditional Undergraduate Admissions Test for Disadvantaged Black Students in South Africa

1994 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 208-215 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian M. Shochet
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Academic Success ◽  
Black Students ◽  
Assessment Model ◽  
First Year ◽  
Aptitude Tests ◽  
Moderator Effect ◽  
Intellectual Assessment ◽  
Undergraduate Admissions ◽  
Cognitive Modifiability

Universities in South Africa are faced with the problem of finding admissions criteria, other than high school grades, that are both fair and valid for black applicants severely disadvantaged by an inferior school education. The use of traditional intellectual assessments and aptitude tests (such as the Scholastic Aptitude Test) for disadvantaged and minority students remains controversial as a fair assessment, in that these tests do not take account of potential for change. In this study, therefore, a measure of students' cognitive modifiability, assessed by means of an Interactive Assessment model, was added as a moderator of the traditional intellectual assessment in predicting first-year university success. Cognitive modifiability significantly moderated the predictive validity of the traditional intellectual assessment for a sample of disadvantaged black students enrolled in the first year Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of the Witwatersrand. The higher the level of cognitive modifiability, the less effective were traditional methods for predicting academic success and vice versa. The implications of these findings are discussed.

scholarly journals Investigating health factors as predictor of early drop-out of first year accounting students at the University of the Free State, South Africa

Afrika Focus ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 9-20
Author(s):  
Christa Beyers ◽  
Hanli Joubert
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Academic Success ◽  
Emotional Health ◽  
Hiv And Aids ◽  
Drop Out ◽  
Free State ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Health Factors ◽  
The University

Introduction: The future of the South African workforce looks bleak given the challenges posed, not only by health factors, including HIV and AIDS, but also the success and throughput rate of first year university students. Methodology: The research in this study was conducted in 2013 using a post-positivist approach and applying an interpretive stance using a mixed method approach, which included a quantitative non-experimental predictive multivariate design as well as focus group interviews to triangulate the findings. Results: We present findings that psychosocial background factors, physical health and emotional health influence success and non-completion rates among first year students at the University of the Free State, South Africa. Conclusion: We argue that early identification of poor psychosocial background, including health factors, can assist in empowering youths helping them to make healthy decisions and deal with stressful situations in a way that will not compromise their academic success.

scholarly journals Voorspelling van die akademiese sukses van eerstejaarstudente

1998 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
M. M. Rademeyer ◽  
J. M. Schepers
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Academic Success ◽  
First Year ◽  
Comprehensive Model ◽  
Regression Analyses ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Discriminant Analyses ◽  
Promotion Criterion ◽  
Examination Process ◽  
Percentage Correct

Prediction of academic success of first year students. The recent amalgamation of the various regional education systems in South Africa and as a result/ the restructuring of the education dispensation, led to a number of problems which impacted negatively on the examination process. Against this backdrop, the present study attempted to find a valid altermative for matric marks as a predictor of academic success. Multiple regression analyses and canonical discriminant analyses were performed to construct a comprehensive model, which can be used to predict the academic achievement of students, and serve as an alternative for matric marks. Regression analyses with average exam mark as criterion were performed on the data of the three largest faculties. Multiple correlations of 0,59, 0,56 and 0,52 were obtained. Discriminant analyses were done against a promotion criterion (promoted,not promoted), for each of the faculties. According to the results of the discriminant analyses the percentage correct classifications varied from 62,7% to 81,1%. Opsomming Die onlangse samesmelting van die onderskeie streeksonderwysstelsels in Suid-Afrika en die gevolglike herstrukturering van die onderwys, het sy eie kwota probleme opgelewer wat 'n negatiewe impak op matriekeksaminering gehad het. Teen hierdie agtergrond het die huidige studie gepoog om 'n geldige alternatief vir matriekpunte as voorspeller van akademiese prestasie te vind. Meervoudige regressie-ontledings asook kanoniese diskriminantontledings is op die datastel uitgevoer ten einde 'n omvattende model daar te stel waarmee die akademiese prcstasie van studente voorspel kan word, en wat as plaasvervanger vir matriekpunte kan dien. regressie- ontledings vir die drie grootste fakulteite is gedoen met die gemiddelde eksamenpunt as kriterium. Meervoudige korrelasies van 0,59, 0,56 en 0,52 is verkry. Diskriminantontledings is vir elke fakulteit teenoor 'n promosiekriterium (promoveer/nie-promo-veer) uitgevoer. Volgens die resultate van die diskriminantontledings het die persentasie korrekte klassifikasies gewissel van 62,7% tot 81,1%.

Career Decision of South African Students in Vocational Education

1999 ◽  
Vol 84 (2) ◽  
pp. 488-490 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark B. Watson ◽  
Darryl Smith
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Black Students ◽  
Vocational Education ◽  
Postsecondary Education ◽  
South African ◽  
White Students ◽  
Career Decision ◽  
First Year ◽  
African Students ◽  
Career Decisiveness

The career decisiveness of postsecondary South African students in vocational education ( N = 1062) were assessed. Analysis indicated that White students were more decisive about careers than Asian and Black students in the first year. The implications of this finding for postsecondary education in South Africa are discussed.

scholarly journals Selection criteria for a radiography programme in South Africa: Predictors for academic success in the first year of study

2016 ◽  
Vol 21 ◽  
pp. 206-213 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carol Anne Kridiotis ◽  
Johan Bezuidenhout ◽  
Jacques Raubenheimer
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Academic Success ◽  
Selection Criteria ◽  
First Year

scholarly journals Performance in grade 12 mathematics and science predicts student nurses’ performance in first year science modules at a university in the Western Cape

Curationis ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katlego D.T. Mthimunye ◽  
Felicity M. Daniels
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Academic Performance ◽  
Predictive Validity ◽  
Life Science ◽  
Student Nurses ◽  
First Year ◽  
Western Cape ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Mathematics And Science ◽  
First Year Student

Background: The demand for highly qualified and skilled nurses is increasing in South Africa as well as around the world. Having a background in science can create a significant advantage for students wishing to enrol for an undergraduate nursing qualification because nursing as profession is grounded in scientific evidence.Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the predictive validity of grade 12 mathematics and science on the academic performance of first year student nurses in science modules.Method: A quantitative research method using a cross-sectional predictive design was employed in this study. The participants included first year Bachelor of Nursing students enrolled at a university in the Western Cape, South Africa. Descriptive and inferential statistics were performed to analyse the data by using the IBM Statistical Package for Social Sciences versions 24. Descriptive analysis of all variables was performed as well as the Spearman’s rank correlation test to describe the relationship among the study variables. Standard multiple linear regressions analysis was performed to determine the predictive validity of grade 12 mathematics and science on the academic performance of first year student nurses in science modules.Results: The results of this study showed that grade 12 physical science is not a significant predictor (p > 0.062) of performance in first year science modules. The multiple linear regression revealed that grade 12 mathematics and life science grades explained 37.1% to 38.1% (R2 = 0.381 and adj R2 = 0.371) of the variation in the first year science grade distributions.Conclusion: Based on the results of the study it is evident that performance in grade 12 mathematics (β = 2.997) and life science (β = 3.175) subjects is a significant predictor (p < 0.001) of the performance in first year science modules for student nurses at the university identified for this study.

¿Comprenderán Mis Amigos y La Familia? Analyzing Spanish Translations of Admission Materials for Latina/o Students Applying to 4-Year Institutions in the United States

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 195-209 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zachary W. Taylor
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
The United States ◽  
Reading Level ◽  
Spanish Language ◽  
First Year ◽  
Linguistic Capital ◽  
Undergraduate Admissions ◽  
Research And Practice ◽  
Grade Reading Level ◽  
Language Content

This study examines first-year undergraduate admissions materials from 325 bachelor-degree granting U.S. institutions, closely analyzing the English-language readability and Spanish-language readability and translation of these materials. Via Yosso’s linguistic capital, the results reveal 4.9% of first-year undergraduate admissions materials had been translated into Spanish, 4% of institutional admissions websites embed translation widgets, and the average readability of English-language content is above the 13th-grade reading level. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

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