Die langtermyndoeltreffendheid van 'n universiteitsoorbruggingsprogram

[摘要] English: Presently South Africa is involved in a process of radical transformation aimed at theupliftment of the black population in all domains, especially education. The development ofa country in respect of economic prosperity, technological progressiveness and educationalexcellence depends on its youth. Since the demise of apartheid, the focus thereforecentered specifically on the educational deficiencies of black or high-risk students. In orderto ensure equal opportunities for tertiary education to all disadvantaged students, wayswere investigated to close the gap between the deprived backgrounds of students on theone hand and academic expectations in the tertiary environment on the other. As limitedassistance by means of day courses or summer programmes failed to eliminate thecognitive and affective components which hampered the academic self-actualisation ofdisadvantaged students overseas, more structured interventions were systematicallyintroduced in the form of academic support programmes and bridging courses. Pre-tertiary bridging courses that provide students, who have the necessary potential buthave an academic history barring them from attending traditionally white universities, withthe opportunity for further study, are a relatively recent development in South Africa. As away of preparing black students for tertiary admission and facilitating their transition fromthe secondary to tertiary institution, the Career Preparation Programme (CPP) has been inoperation at the University of the Orange Free State since 1993. Because of costsassociated with these programmes, as well as the demand for a trained work force in thetechnological professions, it is important that programmes (including the CPP) be effectivein benefitting students academically. As the success of these programmes is measured interms of students' increased academic performance, lower drop-out rates, and an increasein the proportion of highly qualified graduates, these programmes should be effective in thelong term. Few programmes have been studied locally, especially as far as their long-termeffectiveness is concerned. Furthermore, studies on the long-term effectiveness of theseprogrammes (e.g. the PBS at the University of the Witwatersrand), have been based on asingle degree course only. In view of the absence of past research on the long-termeffectiveness of the CPP, the present study particularly focuses on this aspect. This was done by comparing various indices of performance of the 1993 intake of CPP students withthe corresponding indices of a control group of black students who were directly admitted tothe UOFS in 1994, after differences in previous academic performance, as reflected in theirSwedish Scale Points, were controlled for statistically. The performance indices used, wereinter alia the average curriculum percentage marks of the students and the number ofcredits acquired (in the respective years of study as well as cumulatively), as well as theirdrop-out and graduation rates.Although the CPP students were put in an advantage in that the cumulative of theirtransitional year and first tertiary year was compared to the first-year performance of thecontrol group, the results suggested that in respect of all operalisations of academicsuccess, the CPP students were less successful than the control group. Although a positiverelationship (r :::;0,40) has been found between the CPP students' Swedish Scale Pointsand their first-year performance, the corresponding effect size was rather low (f ² =0,07)and no other significant relationship was found between these variables. In spite of limitations in this study, it would appear that the particular intake of CPP studentswere unable to cope with academic demands, either as a result of an inability to adapt orbecause of defective skills, resulting in the CPP being ineffective in ensuring the long-termacademic success of high-risk students. Several students, however, who otherwise wouldnot have been admitted to the UOFS, have already graduated. As the CPP is also revisedannually, and the programme has possibly been improved in the meantime, these resultscannot necessarily be generalised to the CPP intakes of other years. These results implythat continued academic support in the form of inter alia retention programmes should beconsidered in order to ensure permanent academic success for high-risk students.

[发布机构] University of the Free State