Doctoral Degrees (Psychology)

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Browsing Doctoral Degrees (Psychology) by Subject "Academic achievement"

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    Die effek van twee sielkundige inoefeningsprogramme op die akademiese prestasie, selfkonsep en angsvlak van studente
    (University of the Free State, 2003-11) De Vos, Hendrik Moller; Louw, D. A.
    English: Article 1: The main objective of the present study was to verify the effect of hypnotic training programmes on the academic achievement of students empirically. A pre- and post test design was used. Two experimental and two control groups were selected from a universe of 564 undergraduate students. One of the experimental groups was submitted to active alert hypnosis and the other to relaxation hypnosis. The participants’ April marks were used as a pre-test, while their average June marks served as a re-test. The two psychological training programmes had a significant effect on the academic achievement of the participants, which was not found in the control groups. Regarding the efficacy of the two programmes, no significant difference was found. The findings of the research support the supposition that most people are hypnotically suggestible and that training in hypnotic skills can increase a person’s levels of suggestibility. The supposition that the nature of the suggestions during the induction and the hypnotic phase can be decisive, is also supported by the research. Article 2: The origin of this study was the theories and research concerning the organismic nature of mankind. The main objective of the research was to establish whether mental training programmes based on hypnosis could alter self-concept. Two experimental and two control groups were selected from a universe of 564 undergraduate students. One of the experimental groups was submitted to active alert hypnosis and the other to relaxation hypnosis. Regarding the dependant variable, the self-concept, the Greeff Self-Concept Questionnaire was used. The analysis of variance showed that the two programmes had a significant effect on the self-concept of the participants. The study supports the supposition that the inner organismic contact facilitated by hypnosis can have a positive effect on the conscious experience of the self. As a result the research also supports the holistic African perspective of the self-concept as being collective and organismic by nature. Article 3: In an achievement-orientated and test-conscious society test anxiety can drastically impair academic development. An important purpose of this study was to determine if mental training programmes based on hypnosis could aid the management of test anxiety. Two experimental groups were exposed to active alert- and relaxation hypnosis respectively. Regarding the dependant variable, test anxiety, the participants' pre- and post measurements on the Test Anxiety Scale (TAS) were used. The results of the analysis of variance indicate that the two programmes had no significant effect on test anxiety in undergraduate students. Concerning gender, no significant differences regarding test anxiety were found. In this context statements and recommendations are made.
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    Factors and experiences related to the academic success of students in the Faculty of the Humanities
    (University of the Free State, 2017-01) Burger, Andri; Naudé, Luzelle
    English: This research study builds on the current body of research regarding the predictors of academic success among students enrolled in higher education (HE), as well as students’ perceptions of these factors. The aim of the study is to contribute to the understanding of the factors and experiences related to academic success in HE and to expand on the model of academic success within the South African (SA) context. The study focussed specifically on first- to fifth-year students enrolled in the Faculty of the Humanities at the University of the Free State. The roles of several pre-enrolment and post-enrolment factors on students’ academic success were explored by means of this mixed-methods study. Pre-enrolment factors that were examined during the study included students’ age, gender, race, language proficiency, Grade 12 performance, high school attended, and parental levels of education, while the post-enrolment factors that were scrutinised included students’ initial educational goals, initial commitment to the HE institution, physical energy devoted to HE activities, psychological energy devoted to HE activities, academic self-concept, participation in academic activities, academic contact with staff, academic contact with peers, participation in extracurricular activities, non-academic contact with staff, non-academic contact with peers, financial responsibilities, family responsibilities, and employment responsibilities. The quantitative analysis was based on the data collected from 229 students, while the qualitative data were collected from 26 students, all of whom were in their first to fifth years in the Faculty of the Humanities. Results of the quantitative section of the study showed that several differences existed in terms of students’ age, race, gender, language proficiency, high school attended, as well as parental levels of education and the various post-enrolment factors that were explored. Moreover, the total set of pre- and post-enrolment factors, as well as the separate sets of preenrolment factors and post-enrolment factors explained a significant amount of the variance in academic success for the entire sample, as well as for the different race groups (designated group and the white group). Next, different individual variables explained a significant amount of the variance in academic success in the designated group and white group. In terms of the qualitative section of the study, students’ perceptions of academic success included how they viewed academic success, how they would define an academically successful student and the behaviours that successful students would exhibit. Lastly, the individuals who played an important role in success and other aspects that they viewed as important in Factors and experiences related to academic success vi academic success were highlighted in the qualitative section. When results of the two sections of the study were integrated, it was clear that the prediction of academic success remains very complex and that several pre- and post-enrolment factors in combination, rather than factors in isolation, are more successful in the prediction of students’ academic success. This study contributed significantly to the body of research regarding academic success within the South African context, specifically with regards to the academic success of non-traditional students.
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    The role of identity development, future time perspective and career maturity in first-year students' academic success
    (University of the Free State, 2017-01) Seane, Edna Refiloe; Grobler, A. A.; Esterhuyse, K. G. F.; Lacante, M. M.
    English: The retention of first-year students and poor throughput rates are problems plaguing higher education globally and South Africa in particular. A significant number of students drop out of university in their first year of study and those who ultimately graduate take longer periods to complete their undergraduate degree. Many first-year students who gain access to higher education are reported to be under-prepared and ill equipped to meet the expectation and the assumption that they should be academically and developmentally prepared to handle the responsibilities associated with higher learning and its unique challenges. First-year students are developmentally at the emerging adulthood stage, where they are generally engaged in a process directed towards their future roles and career aspirations. It was therefore necessary to consider theoretical underpinnings of identity and career development as significant factors at play in students' intrapsychic preparedness and psychological resilience for the task at hand. These two developmental trajectories are significantly influenced by one’s time orientation, specifically one’s future time perspective. The main aim of this study was to investigate the role of career maturity and future time perspective in the relationship between identity development and the academic success of first-year students at university. Thus, the study firstly aimed to determine whether identity development could significantly predict the academic success of first-year students at university and secondly, it investigated the mediating and moderating roles of both career maturity and future time perspective. This investigation was extended to include gender and race/ethnicity as factors influencing the outcome. From the moderated hierarchical multiple regression analyses conducted to investigate the possible effect of gender and race/ethnicity on the relationship between identity development and academic success, it became clear that gender did not moderate this relationship whereas race/ethnicity succeeded in moderating the relationship. Calculated correlation coefficients between the relevant variables indicated that only the commitment scale correlated significantly (at the 5% level) with academic success for the total group and the white students. None of the identity styles reflected a significant relationship with academic success for the black learners. An increased number of career maturity variables appeared to be significantly related to academic success for the total group and for the black and white students. Future time perspective appeared to be significantly related to academic success for the total group as well as for the black and white students. None of the identity styles succeeded in predicting a significant percentage of variance in both the black and white students’ academic success. Therefore, the role of identity development in predicting academic success remains inconclusive and calls for further exploration. The following career maturity scales moderated the relationship between the normative identity and academic success: decision making moderated this relationship for the black students; career information moderated this relationship for both the black and the white students; and, lastly, integration of self- and career information moderated this relationship for the white students. Career information, integration of self- and career information as well as career planning moderated the relationship between diffuse-avoidant style and academic success for the white students. Lastly, future time perspective moderated the relationship between identity commitment and academic success for the black first-year students and not for the white students. This appears to be a strange finding as white students are expected to be more future-oriented and goal directed in that these are the associated effects of identity exploration and the development of identity commitments over time; processes that are often associated with Western cultural values.
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    The role of school and educator variables in selected learner outcomes
    (University of the Free State, 2013-08-23) Van der Linde, Lori-Ann; Grobler, A. A.; Lens, W.
    English: Education has been earmarked as the key to social upliftment and economic prosperity in South Africa. Eighteen years after the demise of Apartheid, much progress has been made in the South African education system, but many challenges still remain. Whereas equity has largely been attained in educational spending and almost universal enrolment has been achieved, vast discrepancies persist in the quality of education received by learners in different school types. This cross-sectional survey study investigated both contextual and individual factors related to educational effectiveness in South Africa. The contextual variables examined were school type (i.e., Advantaged, Transitional, Disadvantaged Black, and Disadvantaged Coloured), school environment, classroom environment, and average class size. At the person level, two educator variables (i.e., burnout and motivating style) and two learner variables (i.e., motivational aspirations and Grade 12 achievement) were included. The sample consisted of 1040 Grade 12 learners from the Motheo District in Bloemfontein and 106 Grade 12 educators from the same nine randomly selected schools. The main outcome variable under consideration was learners’ Grade 12 matriculation examination marks, which represent the primary barometer of the health of the South African education system. Five specific research questions were formulated and investigated. The first research question concerned the relationships between school environment, classroom environment, educator burnout and educator motivating style. Hypotheses were largely confirmed and several significant correlations were identified (small to medium effect sizes). The second research question investigated whether school environment could predict educator burnout, and multiple regression results indicated that school environment was indeed an important predictor of educator burnout. Research question three examined whether learners’ motivational aspirations and the average class size per school could predict Grade 12 learner achievement. Using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM), a good fit was found for the specified model and all hypotheses were confirmed. Average class size was negatively related to Grade 12 learners’ achievement as well as learners’ relative intrinsic aspirations. Learners’ relative intrinsic aspirations were positively related to their Grade 12 achievement. Research question four concerned whether school type could predict Grade 12 learner achievement. Multiple regression analysis results confirmed that school type was a significant and important predictor of Grade 12 achievement. Learners in Advantaged schools performed best, followed by those in Transitional schools, and learners in Disadvantaged Black and Coloured schools performed most poorly. Finally, research question five investigated whether the four school types differed in their school, classroom, educator and learner variables. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) results indicated that significant differences existed in school environment, classroom environment, learners’ motivational aspirations and learners’ Grade 12 achievement across the four school types. No significant differences were found for the educator variables. By identifying differences between the four school types, it was possible to identify which variables may be important for Grade 12 learner achievement in South Africa. Results for the five research questions were interpreted and discussed against the backdrop of relevant theory and research and with consideration to the South African educational context. Potential implications of the findings for education in South Africa were presented and the importance of the school environment as a focus area for assessment and intervention was highlighted.