scholarly journals Decolonising an Academic Literacy curriculum at the University of the Free State with creative writing: challenges and opportunities

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 87-103
Author(s):  
Peet van Aardt
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Academic Literacy ◽  
First Year ◽  
Literacy Curriculum ◽  
African Students ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Literacy Course ◽  
Graded Readers ◽  
The University ◽  
Local Narratives

As part of the first year Academic Literacy course at the UFS, students are required to study graded readers. The booklets are abridged versions of Western fiction, therefore these narratives reinforce the colonial presence in our curriculum. But South African students need to read local narratives in order to learn about each other – from each other. By taking part in the Initiative for Creative African Narratives (iCAN) students improve our curriculum by writing their own short stories so that they become contributors of material that will be graded and tested to form part of the UFS Academic Literacy curriculum. Thereby, students contribute to larger bodies of knowledge through their lived experiences. This paper reflects on the challenges and opportunities within the iCAN process.

scholarly journals Sense of belonging and first-year academic literacy

2012 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 116-142
Author(s):  
Steve Marshall ◽  
Mingming Zhou ◽  
Ted Gervan ◽  
Sunita Wiebe
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Mixed Method ◽  
Sense Of Belonging ◽  
Academic Literacy ◽  
Mixed Method Study ◽  
First Year ◽  
Language And Literacy ◽  
Writing Courses ◽  
Literacy Course ◽  
The University

In this article, we analyze a broad range of factors that affect the sense of belonging of undergraduate students taking a first-year academic literacy course (ALC) at a multicultural, multilingual university in Vancouver, Canada. Students who fail to meet the university’s language and literacy requirements are required to pass ALC before they can enrol in writing courses across the disciplines. Consequently, many of those students feel that they have yet to be accepted as fully legitimate members of the university community. We present data from a two-year, mixed-method study, which involved asking students in surveys and interviews about their sense of belonging, as well as analyzing their reflective writing samples for issues related to their sense of belonging. We found that the participants’ perceptions of sense of belonging are multilayered and context-dependent, relating to changes in time and space, classroom pedagogy, and other social, cultural, and linguistic factors. Implications for higher education are discussed.  

scholarly journals Reading competency of first-year undergraduate students at University of Botswana: A case study

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Beauty B. Ntereke ◽  
Boitumelo T. Ramoroka
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Academic Literacy ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Reading Levels ◽  
First Semester ◽  
University Of Botswana ◽  
Students First ◽  
Literacy Course ◽  
The University

The ability to read and interpret textbooks and other assigned material is a critical component of success at university level. Therefore, the aims of this study are twofold: to evaluate the reading levels of first-year students when they first enter the university to determine how adequately prepared they are for university reading. It is also to find out if there will be any significant improvement after going through the academic literacy course offered to first-year students. The participants were 51 first-year undergraduate humanities students enrolled in the Communication and Academic Literacy course at the University of Botswana. The data were collected through a reading test adopted from Zulu which was administered at the beginning of the first semester. The same test was administered at the end of the semester after the students had gone through the academic literacy course to see if there was any difference in performance. The findings of this study indicate that there is a mixed and wide variation of students reading competency levels when students first enter the university and that a significant number of first-year entrants are inadequately prepared for university reading.

Computer Ownership and Usage as Predictors of Computer Literacy of South African Students

2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 638-664
Author(s):  
Pieter Blignaut ◽  
Engela Dednam ◽  
Tlholohelo Nkalai
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Computer Literacy ◽  
First Year ◽  
African Students ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Software Applications ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Diverse Backgrounds ◽  
The University ◽  
Better Than

Most of our first-year students were born after 1995 and belong to the generation of “digital natives”. They are perceived as being comfortable with technology and active on social media for a large part of every day. However, students at the University of the Free State (ufs) come from diverse backgrounds and the typical characteristicsof their contemporaries do not necessarily apply to them.Students completed questionnaires about their experience with and exposure to various software applications before commencement of the first computer literacy module at the mentioned institution. Students’ performance in three formal assessments during the semester were used as dependent variable to determine whether prior ownership and exposure to computers gave them an advantage over their peers who did not have access to computers.Students owning a computer or who had access to someone else’s computer performed significantly better than those without access to a computer. The Internet andmsWord were found to be among the most used applications prior to entering a university, and they also proved to be predictive of the performance of students in a computer literacy module throughout the semester. The amount of usage did, however,not make any significant difference with regard to the students’ performance.

The Many Racial Effigies of Sara Baartman

2017 ◽  
Vol 58 (3) ◽  
pp. 275-299 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kellen Hoxworth
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Cape Town ◽  
Racial Oppression ◽  
Black Paint ◽  
African Students ◽  
The Many ◽  
University Of Cape Town ◽  
The University

Six African students enact a somber, silent dance. They stage a series of striking images at the base of South African artist Willie Bester's sculptureSara Baartman, in the Chancellor Oppenheimer Library at the University of Cape Town (UCT). Their faces and bodies smeared with black paint, the students articulate their protest ofSara Baartmanin explicitly racial terms, aligning their critiques of economic, colonial, and racial oppression under the sign of blackness.

Creating epistemic access through a scaffold approach: Academic literacy skills development for South African first-year public administration students

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 156-174
Author(s):  
Gerda HG van Dijk ◽  
Brenda A Vivian ◽  
Lianne P Malan
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Academic Performance ◽  
Public Administration ◽  
South African ◽  
Curriculum Design ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Academic Literacy ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
First Year ◽  
Epistemic Access

For higher education institutions to produce graduates capable of contributing to society and the economy in a productive manner, educational emphasis is placed on the development of critical thinking. The above necessitates that higher education institutions are able to engage in responsive curriculum design and delivery for enhanced student success and access. Public Administration programmes focus on equipping students to work within the broader government sector, able and capable of delivering public functions responsive to the needs of society. Literature suggests that there are a number of factors which influence the success ratio of any undergraduate programme in the South African context, including, inter alia, increased enrolments, student–staff ratios and the overall decline of professional and intellectual life in the country. Further complicating matters are classes too big to be participatory and crammed syllabi preventing in-depth discussions. The notion of embedding academic literacy development in curriculum design through a scaffolded approach aims to influence the academic performance of students through engaged and active learning in order to attain a higher level of achievement as well as benefit from the process of scaffolding. The research comprises a mixed method approach using a case study of the first-year students enrolled for a Public Administration degree. Data collected included an analysis of 2015, 2016 and 2017 student cohorts in: determining their academic literacy level upon registration (set as a baseline before any academic literacy intervention); tracking their academic performance through their formative and summative assessments (through a scaffolded approach); and reflecting upon their learning through their completion of a semi-structured survey. The research intends to argue that the use of a scaffolded approach to learning enhances epistemic access, which sees students moving beyond propositional, or foundation knowledge to epistemic or reflexive knowledge.

A Comparison of South African and International First-Year Students’ Counselling Needs and Preferred Counselling Sources

2012 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 106-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lionel Nicholas ◽  
Maria Damianova ◽  
Mzamo Ntantiso
Keyword(s):  
International Students ◽  
South African ◽  
First Year ◽  
African Students ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Learning Skill ◽  
Counselling Needs ◽  
First Year University ◽  
Personal Career ◽  
Structured Questionnaire

This study investigated the personal, career and learning skill needs of first-year university students, their preferred counselling sources, and compared South African and international students. Respondents completed a structured questionnaire (N = 567) with more than half reporting a moderate to high need for assistance with their concerns. Women had a significantly greater need for assistance with the bulk of listed concerns than men. International students had a significantly greater need for assistance than South African students and were particularly concerned about xenophobia. These results may assist administrators and counsellors to develop strategies to address identified student needs.

scholarly journals The relationship between self-efficacy and reading proficiency of first-year students: An exploratory study

2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Naomi A.N.Y. Boakye
Keyword(s):  
Reading Instruction ◽  
South African ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Academic Literacy ◽  
Reading Proficiency ◽  
First Year ◽  
Tertiary Institution ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Affective Factors ◽  
The Relationship

Self-efficacy, which is the belief about one’s ability to perform a task successfully, has been widely acknowledged as important in learning. This affective factor, though not explicitly evident, has been said to play an important role in academic performance. However, its role in reading development has not been widely investigated. To determine the relationship between self-efficacy and reading proficiency, a study was conducted with first-year students in a South African tertiary institution. Students’ self-efficacy levels were elicited through a questionnaire and their reading proficiency was obtained through the Test of Academic Literacy levels (TALL), which essentially assesses reading proficiency. An analysis of variance showed a robust relationship between reading self-efficacy and reading proficiency for this cohort of students. Regression analysis conducted with other affective factors showed self-efficacy as the best predictor of students’ reading proficiency. Results are discussed as they relate to previous research and recommendations are made to include the development of self-efficacy in reading instruction.

scholarly journals Informing South African Students About Information Systems

10.28945/2499 ◽  
2002 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mike Hart
Keyword(s):  
Information Systems ◽  
University Students ◽  
South African ◽  
Education System ◽  
Cape Town ◽  
African Students ◽  
University Of Cape Town ◽  
The University

At the University of Cape Town, females and students disadvantaged under the previous South African apartheid education system are under-represented in Information Systems (I.S.) classes. This research shows that these are also the groups most ignorant about I.S. at the school-leaving stage. After being informed about the discipline through a small intervention, a significant increase in enthusiasm for majoring in and being employed in I.S. occurred. This should result in a better educational fit and greater enrolment of these groups in I.S., and reduce some switching to I.S. from other subjects at a later stage. The key influencing sources for university students’ study decisions are also examined, and it is evident that a different approach is needed for each group in order to maximize the number of quality I.S. graduates.

scholarly journals Experiential Learning and Peer Teaching to Develop PowerPoint Slide Formatting Skills

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 23-41
Author(s):  
Kay Maree Hammond
Keyword(s):  
Experiential Learning ◽  
Academic Literacy ◽  
Peer Teaching ◽  
First Year ◽  
Basic Principles ◽  
Literacy Course ◽  
Effective Use ◽  
Face Time ◽  
Further Development ◽  
Specific Learning

Construction of visual material to enhance audience understanding of an oral presentation is an important skill in educational and professional settings. Many first-year undergraduates may not be familiar with the basic principles of effective slide design to increase audience understanding. However, faculty face time pressures to train students on effective use of information technology for educational activities. This paper reports on the development and use of a time-efficient, engaging, in-class activity involving specific learning criteria for slide design in an academic literacy course. The activity is based on experiential learning and peer teaching to increase student ability and confidence with creating PowerPoint slides for first year undergraduates. Students evaluated the activity positively and were able to achieve most of the learning criteria. Recommendations for further development of the activity are provided.

scholarly journals Treasure Hunt in the Library: An Exercise in Academic Literacy

10.28945/3092 ◽  
2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dorothy Langley
Keyword(s):  
Public Libraries ◽  
World View ◽  
Academic Literacy ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Classification Systems ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Academic Publications ◽  
Literacy Course ◽  
The Impact

This paper presents an Academic Literacy course designed for first year students in our department. The course is based on a set of relevant reading materials and covers knowledge levels and classification systems, logical and physical library organization principles, physical and virtual search for publications, bibliographic citations and referencing methods and purposes. The paper describes two, out-of-class, activities related to the academic and public libraries in the information age. The first activity, the “Book Hunt”, organizes the students’ conceptions of the variety of functions being served and the impact of information technology on retrieving academic publications. Students’ response to a reflective assignment dealing with concepts and impressions is described. The second activity “Visiting a public library”, involves interviewing the librarian and writing a report on the structure and functions of the library. The paper discusses features of students’ reports and indicates the contribution of the activities to the students’ academic world view.

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