Masters Degrees (Psychology)
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Browsing Masters Degrees (Psychology) by Subject "Academic achievement"
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Item Open Access Characteristics of learners and parents as predictors of high school pass rates(University of the Free State, 2001-05) Calitz, Yvette; Esterhuyse, K. G. F.English: Academic achievement is an important and often troublesome aspect for many learners. The importance hereof can be seen in the fact that this achievement will affect the future of learners, as their opportunities for higher education and employment will depend on the results that they obtain in their final grade 12 examination. Achieving well academically is however not always a simple, straightforward task, as there are many factors present that can help or hinder learners in performing at their full potential. Cognitive factors can influence the level of academic achievement attained. Biographical factors have also been found to contribute to scholastic performance. These factors include aspects such as the gender, age and birth position of the learner, as well as parental age and marital status. Furthermore, social and emotional considerations (internal factors) also influence the learner's level of achievement. Aspects such as the interaction between learners and their parents, as well as between peers, and the relationships formed with teachers are included in this respect. The final research sample used comprised 156 black learners and 147 parents from five secondary schools in the greater Bloemfontein area. The schools were selected on the basis of the grade 12 pass rates obtained over the past two years. The grade 12 learners in the respective schools formed the two groups based on pass rate, namely those with a high pass rate and those with a low pass rate. These groups were then compared with respect to the biographical and internal factors related to the learners and their parents. The data collected was then subjected to a logistic regression analysis, in order to determine which of the above-mentioned factors could significantly predict the group membership of a learner. A number of factors were found to significantly contribute to the prediction of pass rate. Younger learners were found to be more likely to belong to the group of learners with a high pass rate, while learners who intended to study further, as well as those whose parents were married, were more likely to belong to the group of learners with low pass rates. In addition to these biographical factors, certain internal factors were also found to be significant. A poor degree of communication between learners and their parents, as well as negative interaction between teachers and learners, was found to positively influence the academic achievement of learners. Learners, whose parents had a negative perception of the school climate, were more likely to belong to the group of learners with a low pass rate.Item Open Access The role of study orientation and casual attribution in mathematics achievement(University of the Free State, 2002-11) Moodaley, Reveni Rene; Grobler, A. A.; Lens, W.English: This study was conducted to investigate and clarify the role that certain study orientation variables play in predicting mathematics achievement. To achieve this, the empirical relationship between study orientation as measured by the SOM (study attitude, mathematics anxiety, study habits problem-solving behaviour and study milieu) and achievement in this subject was investigated for grade 9 learners from jive racially integrated, secondary schools in the Northern Cape. The role of gender and culture as possible moderator variables was considered. A series of hierarchical regression analyses were performed to determine the percentage of the criterion (mathematics achievement) variance that could be explained by study orientation in mathematics. This investigation was augmented by the further exploration of learners' perceived causes of their achievement in mathematics. Once again, the contribution of the attribution of causes (internal or external factors) to the variance in mathematics achievement for both gender and culture was investigated. The results emphasized the importance of the set of study orientation variables as predictors of achievement in mathematics for both genders and all three culture groups. Study milieu and problem-solving behaviour appeared to be the most significant (at the 1% level) individual predictors of mathematics achievement for both genders and both black and white grade 9 learners. The causal attribution of achievement scales jointly contributed significantly to the explanation of the variance in mathematics achievement for the following groups: male, white and coloured learners with positive perceptions of their achievement in mathematics and male, white and black learners with negative perceptions of their achievement in mathematics. The external factor only contributed significantly to the explanation of the variance in mathematics achievement for the white learners with positive perceptions of their achievement in mathematics. However, the internal factor made a significant contribution to the explanation of the variance in mathematics achievement for the following groups: the coloured learners with positive perceptions of their achievement in mathematics and both male and female and black and white learners with negative perceptions of their achievement in mathematics.Item Open Access Time perspective as a predictor of academic competence among black first-year students in the Humanities(University of the Free State, 2012) Steyn, Rinet; Naude, L.𝑬𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒉 The aim of the study was to explore the constructs of academic competence and time perspective amongst a population of Black African first-year students from the Faculty of the Humanities at the University of the Free State. A mixed method design was implemented to investigate the research aims in a conclusive manner. The potential of time perspective to predict academic competence was investigated during the quantitative phase. Greater in-depth knowledge was gained by exploring the participants' understanding of the constructs in the qualitative phase. In the quantitative phase of the study, participants' time perspective was measured with the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory (ZTPI), which divides time perspective into five frames: past-positive, past-negative, present-hedonistic, present-fatalistic, and future. Academic competence was conceptualised as the average result of all the modules that the participants had completed during 2011. A multiple regression analysis was conducted in order to measure the amount of variance in academic competence that is accounted for by time perspective. The quantitative results did not indicate a significant predictive value of time perspective in relation to academic competence. However, the past-negative time frame showed a significant negative correlation with academic competence. During the qualitative phase of the study, focus group sessions and individual interviews were conducted with a select number of participants in order to explore their personal understanding of the relevant constructs. A thematic analysis identified the challenges that were unique to the population as forces that limit academic competence. It was also found that participants apply different time frames and utilise all as motivational forces for achieving academic competence. The way in which social relationships are related to time perspective was identified as an important role player in participants' engagement with their studies. ___________________________________________________________________Item Open Access Transition to secondary school: relationship between changes in academic achievement and general adjustment(University of the Free State, 1998-12) Walker, Stephen Peter; Grobler, A. A.English: Adolescence is a time of immense physical, cognitive and emotional development. This transition from childhood to adulthood begins with the onset of puberty. Puberty also coincides with the transition many learners have to make from primary to secondary school. This transition confronts adolescents with new educational environments and challenges. Some adolescent learners experience a great deal of stress during this period and are thus not able to maintain the same level of academic achievement as they did in primary school. Other learners, however, appear to make the transition with very little difficulty. These learners are able to maintain or even improve upon their previous level of academic achievement. These differing experiences during the transitional period may be due to differences in the learners' adjustment. Learners' study habits and attitudes serve as important coping mechanisms within the changing educational environment. Specific attention was also given to the role of the family, peers, school and academic skills during the transition from primary to secondary school. The sample consisted of 137 grade eight learners from four secondary schools in the greater Bloemfontein area. The learners were divided into two groups on the basis of whether their academic achievement had improved or decreased from the end of grade seven to the middle of grade eight. These two groups were then compared with respect to their adjustment and general study orientation. The effects of gender, language and residential status upon adjustment and general study orientation were also investigated. Attention was also given to the interaction between changes in academic achievement and each of the above-mentioned independent variables. The statistical analysis of the data was performed by employing a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). An analysis of variance (ANOVA) or post hoc t-test (Scheffé) was then used to determine the direction of any differences that were indicated by the MANOVA. Significant differences were found to exist between male and female learners with regard to their general study orientation and certain aspects of their adjustment. Differences were also found to exist between English, Afrikaans and other language speaking learners with respect to their adjustment and general study orientation. Although no significant differences were found with regard to changes in academic achievement differences were found to exist with respect to the interaction between change in academic achievement and language. Differences seem to exist between the adjustment and general study orientation of learners from different language groups who experienced an increase in academic achievement and those who experienced a decrease in academic achievement. Differences also seem to exist within the same language group with regard to changes in academic achievement. Based on these findings various suggestions for future research and development were made.Item Open Access Die verband tussen akademiese selfkonsep en akademiese prestasie in gemengde- en enkelgeslagskole(University of the Free State, 2008) Van der Westhuizen, Ané; Naudé, L.; Esterhuyse, K.English: This research study builds on existing knowledge regarding differences between single-gendered and co-ed schools and the advantages of each type of school, in terms of the relationship between academic self-concept and academic achievement. Academic self-concept and achievement seem to be important determinants of adolescent’s future career and subject choices. The research is based on data of 639 learners – 157 boys from boys’ schools, 224 girls from girls’ schools and 258 boys and girls from co-ed schools. Some of the most significant results are that a positive relationship was found between academic self-concept and academic achievement. Furthermore there was found that girls’ academic achievement was higher than that of boys, in terms of total average achievement and achievement in Mathematics, Afrikaans and Life Orientation, which rendered statistical significant results. Lastly that learners in single-gendered schools’ relationship between academic self-concept and academic achievement is higher than that of learners in co-ed schools, especially in terms of academic self-concept and achievement in Afrikaans, which rendered statistical significant results. Possible reasons for this higher relationship in singlegendered schools, as found in the literature, may be that teachers in these schools are more capable to tend to the specific needs of the specific gender in all subjects, than teachers in co-ed schools and girls may have a more study-orientated culture than boys, hence the better academic achievement. In conclusion it seems that singlegendered schools are more advantageous for learners than co-ed schools, in terms of the learners having a stronger relationship between academic self-concept and academic achievement in Afrikaans.