The influence of academic interventions on the academic performance of human resource management students
- Authors: Hiles, Tevin
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Academic achievement -- South Africa , Education, Higher -- Evaluation
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/49846 , vital:41808
- Description: There are many contextual challenges related to this problem. Some of these include the mass of diverse students entering tertiary institutions and the level of educational preparedness of these students. Moreover, the lasting legacy of Apartheid brings its own challenges in relation to widening access for students entering South African higher education institutions. There are considerable repercussions related to the costs of re-educating students and re-admitting failing students into continuously growing classes. Furthermore, there is a protruding argument that the level of student readiness/preparedness is continually declining. The above-mentioned challenges place extreme pressure on higher education institutions and their staff to provide academic support to students, along with maintaining adequate pass rates. Reflecting on the challenges faced in the South African higher educational context, it is evident that the development and implementation of academic support programmes are important. These programmes are aimed at providing quality learning and teaching and counteracting declining success rates. In addition, there is a need to transform how massification of higher education takes place, to address the challenges of diverse student profiles, dropout rates and low throughput rates. This study explored the impact of academic support interventions on academic performance by focusing on student engagement as it is the leading factor of academic success. For the purpose of this study, this was measured through the attendance of academic interventions. Student engagement may be defined as the time and energy learners dedicate to educational activities both inside and outside of the classroom, along with the policies and practices institutions use to persuade students to partake in these activities. The findings revealed that academic interventions indeed have a positive influence on student behaviour and student academic progress. The results of this study could assist the department of HRM in determining the effectiveness of academic interventions created for first year students.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Hiles, Tevin
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Academic achievement -- South Africa , Education, Higher -- Evaluation
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/49846 , vital:41808
- Description: There are many contextual challenges related to this problem. Some of these include the mass of diverse students entering tertiary institutions and the level of educational preparedness of these students. Moreover, the lasting legacy of Apartheid brings its own challenges in relation to widening access for students entering South African higher education institutions. There are considerable repercussions related to the costs of re-educating students and re-admitting failing students into continuously growing classes. Furthermore, there is a protruding argument that the level of student readiness/preparedness is continually declining. The above-mentioned challenges place extreme pressure on higher education institutions and their staff to provide academic support to students, along with maintaining adequate pass rates. Reflecting on the challenges faced in the South African higher educational context, it is evident that the development and implementation of academic support programmes are important. These programmes are aimed at providing quality learning and teaching and counteracting declining success rates. In addition, there is a need to transform how massification of higher education takes place, to address the challenges of diverse student profiles, dropout rates and low throughput rates. This study explored the impact of academic support interventions on academic performance by focusing on student engagement as it is the leading factor of academic success. For the purpose of this study, this was measured through the attendance of academic interventions. Student engagement may be defined as the time and energy learners dedicate to educational activities both inside and outside of the classroom, along with the policies and practices institutions use to persuade students to partake in these activities. The findings revealed that academic interventions indeed have a positive influence on student behaviour and student academic progress. The results of this study could assist the department of HRM in determining the effectiveness of academic interventions created for first year students.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
Effect of school-based interventions on attention and academic performance of primary schoolchildren from lower socioeconomic communities in Port Elizabeth
- Authors: Adams, Larissa
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Academic achievement -- South Africa , Exercise -- Physiological aspects Physical education for children Physical education and training
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/42085 , vital:36624
- Description: Health benefits associated with regular physical activity (PA) have been widely established. Regular PA is not only associated with improved physical and psychological well-being, but also with improved brain function and cognition, thereby enhancing academic performance (AP). Despite these benefits, decreasing levels of PA and increasing levels of overweight and obesity exist world-wide, making childhood physical inactivity a global concern. Research suggests children who meet the recommended PA guidelines of 60-minutes of moderate-to-vigorous intensity attain substantially higher academic grades. Schools provide ideal settings for PA promotion due to the substantial amount of time children spend at school. However, in many countries, including South Africa (SA), Physical Education (PE) programmes have been reduced and replaced with other subjects to increase AP. Furthermore, a scarcity of water, limited accessibility to improved sanitation and lack of personal hygiene at home and in school substantially contributes to the burden of preventable childhood diseases. These hygiene-related illnesses augment the cycle of poverty and disease through its detrimental effect on children’s school attendance, academic performance and productivity. Studies also show that obesity, poor nutrition and food insufficiency affect children’s school achievement. Hence, the school environment plays an essential role in improving children’s health, since many teaching opportunities about important health and nutrition practices are provided. The primary aim of this study was to determine the effect of various combinations of school-based interventions on the attention and AP of primary schoolchildren from disadvantaged communities in Port Elizabeth. Overall, 857 schoolchildren (n = 434 boys and n = 423 girls, aged 8 – 13 years) participated in the study. A 10-week cluster randomised controlled trial using four experimental and four control schools was conducted. Setting-specific interventions incorporated PA, health and hygiene education and nutrition components. The d2 Test of Attention measured selective visual attention and concentration with outcome measures of the percentage of errors, total performance and concentration performance. End of year school results were used to assess AP. Post-intervention and pre- to post-intervention differences between the inter-school comparisons revealed mixed results for the attention and AP measurements, therefore, no conclusions could be drawn regarding the assessed variables. Intervention group comparisons at post-intervention indicated that the PA intervention group achieved a statistically significant improvement (p < .05 and d > 0.8) for AP, when compared with the non-PA intervention group. No significant differences were found for AP in relation to intervention group comparisons for the health and hygiene education and nutrition intervention groups. Similarly, the intervention group comparisons revealed no significant differences regarding attention for post-intervention and pre- to post-intervention differences. Findings suggest that a school-based PA intervention can positively affect children’s AP. The current study emphasises the necessity of PA and reinforces the importance of PE in the school curriculum. Therefore, it is strongly recommended that PE regains its rightful place and be actively taught within the school curriculum.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Adams, Larissa
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Academic achievement -- South Africa , Exercise -- Physiological aspects Physical education for children Physical education and training
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/42085 , vital:36624
- Description: Health benefits associated with regular physical activity (PA) have been widely established. Regular PA is not only associated with improved physical and psychological well-being, but also with improved brain function and cognition, thereby enhancing academic performance (AP). Despite these benefits, decreasing levels of PA and increasing levels of overweight and obesity exist world-wide, making childhood physical inactivity a global concern. Research suggests children who meet the recommended PA guidelines of 60-minutes of moderate-to-vigorous intensity attain substantially higher academic grades. Schools provide ideal settings for PA promotion due to the substantial amount of time children spend at school. However, in many countries, including South Africa (SA), Physical Education (PE) programmes have been reduced and replaced with other subjects to increase AP. Furthermore, a scarcity of water, limited accessibility to improved sanitation and lack of personal hygiene at home and in school substantially contributes to the burden of preventable childhood diseases. These hygiene-related illnesses augment the cycle of poverty and disease through its detrimental effect on children’s school attendance, academic performance and productivity. Studies also show that obesity, poor nutrition and food insufficiency affect children’s school achievement. Hence, the school environment plays an essential role in improving children’s health, since many teaching opportunities about important health and nutrition practices are provided. The primary aim of this study was to determine the effect of various combinations of school-based interventions on the attention and AP of primary schoolchildren from disadvantaged communities in Port Elizabeth. Overall, 857 schoolchildren (n = 434 boys and n = 423 girls, aged 8 – 13 years) participated in the study. A 10-week cluster randomised controlled trial using four experimental and four control schools was conducted. Setting-specific interventions incorporated PA, health and hygiene education and nutrition components. The d2 Test of Attention measured selective visual attention and concentration with outcome measures of the percentage of errors, total performance and concentration performance. End of year school results were used to assess AP. Post-intervention and pre- to post-intervention differences between the inter-school comparisons revealed mixed results for the attention and AP measurements, therefore, no conclusions could be drawn regarding the assessed variables. Intervention group comparisons at post-intervention indicated that the PA intervention group achieved a statistically significant improvement (p < .05 and d > 0.8) for AP, when compared with the non-PA intervention group. No significant differences were found for AP in relation to intervention group comparisons for the health and hygiene education and nutrition intervention groups. Similarly, the intervention group comparisons revealed no significant differences regarding attention for post-intervention and pre- to post-intervention differences. Findings suggest that a school-based PA intervention can positively affect children’s AP. The current study emphasises the necessity of PA and reinforces the importance of PE in the school curriculum. Therefore, it is strongly recommended that PE regains its rightful place and be actively taught within the school curriculum.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
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