scholarly journals How accounting students within the Thuthuka Bursary Fund perceive academic support offered at one South African university

2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
J.M. Ontong ◽  
T. De Waal ◽  
W. Wentzel
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Academic Support ◽  
Accounting Students

Differences in accounting students’ perceptions of their development of professional skills

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-59
Author(s):  
Marina Kirstein ◽  
Stephen Coetzee ◽  
Astrid Schmulian
Keyword(s):  
Focus Group ◽  
Differentiated Instruction ◽  
South African ◽  
White Students ◽  
Accounting Students ◽  
Professional Skills ◽  
African Students ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Language Groups ◽  
History Of

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore differences in South African accounting students’ perceptions of professional skills developed in an undergraduate accounting program. South Africa has a history of socio-economic inequality and racial injustice, leading to factors outside the classroom impacting educational outcomes. In particular, South African classes are heterogeneous, reflecting a diversity of race and language groups and students from differing schooling backgrounds. These differences necessitate differentiated instruction. Design/methodology/approach To explore for differences in perceptions, data were collected via questionnaires and differences between demographic variables such as school, race and language were considered, while controlling for gender. A focus group was also hosted to further explore findings. Findings Students from better quality schools agreed less strongly than those from poorer quality schools that the education program developed their professional skills. Students from better quality schools may have developed some of the professional skills during their schooling, requiring less to be developed at university. African students, though, agreed less strongly than white students from similar quality schools that they had developed professional skills. A focus group suggested that African students place less emphasis on professional skills development than on technical skills, given their lack of exposure to professional skills through mentors (parents, teachers, etc.) who never developed professional skills during their own compromised education under Apartheid. Originality/value Understanding the differences in the perceptions of professional skill development in a heterogeneous classroom can assist instructors in adopting differentiated instruction approaches to enable all students to develop professional skills. It could also assist future employers of these graduates to differentiate their development strategies during workplace training.

scholarly journals The relationship between the National Senior Certificate and the National Benchmark Test for accounting students at a South African university

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (01) ◽  
Author(s):  
Riley Carpenter ◽  
◽  
Lily Roos ◽  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Academic Performance ◽  
Black Students ◽  
South African ◽  
Empirical Research ◽  
Accounting Students ◽  
Strong Correlations ◽  
Benchmark Test ◽  
Factors Influencing ◽  
The Relationship

The South African accounting profession needs racial transformation. Consequently, students pursuing the chartered accountant (South Africa) (CA(SA)) designation, especially at-risk Black students, require adequate support. To be successful, the support must be driven by factors influencing students’ academic performance. As prior academic performance is one such factor, this study examines the relationship between the National Senior Certificate (NSC) exams and the National Benchmark Test (NBT) for students enrolled in an accounting degree at a South African university. Due to numerous moderate and strong correlations between NSC and NBT results, without multicollinearity, it was concluded that both sets of results should be considered as factors contributing to students’ academic performance. The findings highlight the need for further empirical research on NSC and NBT results as determinants of success for accounting students.

scholarly journals Chartered accountancy and resistance in South Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Terblanche ◽  
Y. Waghid
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Accounting Students ◽  
The South ◽  
Disciplinary Power ◽  
Problem Solving Skills ◽  
Research Activities ◽  
Critical Reflexivity ◽  
Learning Success ◽  
Chartered Accountants

In recent times, the chartered accountant profession was regularly in the news for reasons pertaining to the unethical and unprofessional behaviour of members. The profession has an important role to play in the South African economy, as members will often fulfil important decision-making roles in business. In a response to the dilemmas the profession is facing, we analysed the implications for the profession and society due to a resistance to include research as a pedagogical activity in the chartered accountancy educational landscape. Through deliberative research activities, students have the opportunity to engage with community members and with societal challenges that could foster reflexivity and humaneness in students. In addition, critical and problem-solving skills are cultivated. These are skills that are difficult to assess in the form of an examination, and the absence of research as pedagogical activity in this particular educational landscape, impacts the cultivation of these skills in future chartered accountants. This is so, as the chartered accountancy educational landscape is significantly influenced by the power that resonates within the profession and culminates into the disciplinary power mechanism of the examination. The South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) set an external examination, called the Initial test of Competence (ITC), which graduates need to write upon leaving institutes of higher learning. Success in this SAICA-examination therefore impacts on the teaching and learning pedagogy adopted by chartered accountants in academe. If chartered accounting students were instead primarily being exposed to technical content assessed via an examination, also being exposed and introduced to deliberative research, the possibility exists that students, through critical reflexivity, could move beyond the constraints of the self to that of the communal other in line with the African notion of ubuntu can be enhanced.

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

Afrika Focus ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christa Beyers ◽  
Hanli Joubert
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Academic Success ◽  
South African ◽  
Hiv And Aids ◽  
Drop Out ◽  
Free State ◽  
Accounting Students ◽  
Health Factors ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
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 rst 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 quantita- tive non-experimental predictive multivariate design as well as focus group interviews to triangu- late the ndings. Results: We present ndings that psychosocial background factors, physical health and emotion- al health in uence success and non-completion rates among rst year students at the University of the Free State, South Africa. Conclusion: We argue that early identi cation 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 Supplemental Instruction as a Tool for Students' Academic Performance in Higher Education

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oyinlola Omolara Adebola
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Academic Performance ◽  
South African ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Academic Support ◽  
Supplemental Instruction ◽  
Dropout Rate ◽  
First Year ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
First Year Students

Supplemental instruction (SI), which can be referred to as academic support has been linked to the successful academic performance of university students both locally and internationally. This study explores the successful implementation of SI to encourage students toward academic performance in a South African university. Constructivism theory (CT) was adopted as the theoretical framework for the study while Participatory Research (PR) was the research design. A focused group interview was used to collect data because of its relevance and assumptions of academic support such as supplemental instruction. Two lecturers, two tutors, two tutees, and two SI personnel were selected for the study from a selected university. At the same time, thematic analysis was chosen to analyse the data generated. The findings showed that through the intervention of SI, first-year students' academic performance increased while the dropout rate has also reduced.

scholarly journals Teaching pervasive skills to South African accounting students

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
K Barac ◽  
L Du Plessis
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Real World ◽  
Teaching Methods ◽  
Competency Framework ◽  
Accounting Students ◽  
The Real ◽  
South African Institute ◽  
South African Universities ◽  
The University ◽  
Chartered Accountants

Professional accountants need to retain and maintain a broad skills set. In response to this need, the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) emphasises the mastering of pervasive skills in its competency framework and expects South African universities offering its accredited programmes to produce graduates able to demonstrate such skills at acceptable levels of competence upon entry into the workplace. This study investigates the manner in which SAICA-accredited South African universities offer and teach pervasive skills, and attempts to determine whether heads of departments have identified the teaching of these skills as being the responsibility of the university, or not. These views were solicited through an e-mailed questionnaire. The study found that although the development of pervasive skills is an outcome largely included in these accredited undergraduate programmes, their presentation and integration into the courses vary considerably, and more integration of pervasive skills into course majors should be considered. Teaching methods and practices followed by the universities show significant diversity, and this result corresponds with those reported elsewhere in the literature. It is a concern that there is only limited use of research-based projects in these undergraduate programmes. An interesting finding of the study was that heads of departments perceive the acquisition of some pervasive skills to be best achieved in the real-world, practical workplace, rather than in the theoretical confines of the universities’ lectures and tutorials.

scholarly journals Wide-lens angle: International students’ constructions of academic support in a selected South African university

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (Winter) ◽  
pp. 167-171
Author(s):  
PEACE GINIKA NWOKEDI
Keyword(s):  
International Students ◽  
South African ◽  
Interpersonal Relationships ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Academic Support ◽  
Complex Nature ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Postgraduate Students ◽  
Strategic Teaching ◽  
Academic Activities

The study is an attempt to better understand the complex nature of academic support in higher education, particularly, drawing from the voices of the existing international postgraduate students at a selected university in South Africa. This qualitative study is explorative and participatory in nature and draws on the question: what are the international postgraduate students’ constructions of academic support in a South African university? 12 full time international students were purposively selected. The main findings are illustrated and discussed under 3 broad themes namely: intrapersonal relationships and resilience’s; improved interpersonal relationships among international students; as well as the effect of postgraduate strategic teaching and learning programmes. Significantly, the findings of this study revealed that the international postgraduate students reported a slightly higher level of agency towards their academic activities. A possible explanation may be found in the diverse set of university activities that students access for support. This paper concludes by exploring what lessons emerge when participatory visual methodologies, such as photovoice, are integrated into research with students about their own learning.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document