Facilitating adjustment during the first year: A study of the outcomes of the BeWell Peer Mentoring Programme

McConney, Angelique

doi:10.52779/9781991201430/03

Cited by 2 publications

(4 citation statements)

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“…A few participants also felt that mentorship helps students' transition from high school to university. Mentorship programmes are crucial in helping students' transition from high school to university [27]. By providing academic guidance, campus orientation, personal support, social integration, goal setting, and assistance with independent living, mentors contribute to students' overall adjustment, well-being, and academic success during this critical transition period.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Epistemological access: a case of academic development programmes at a university of technology

Samosamo,

Divala

2023

Eureka: SH

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South Africa has made significant progress in expanding access to higher education since the end of the apatheid era. This gave opportunities to a larger portion of the population to pursue higher education studies, especially those from previously disadvantaged communities. The growth in student enrollment has not always correlate with academic success. High levels of failure and dropout rates amongst first-year students are a common challenge across universities. This implies that the challenges related to epistemic access at universities persist. To address these challenges, universities implemented academic development programmes providing targeted interventions and fostering a supportive learning environment that can help bridge the gap between formal access to universities and epistemic access. The study that informs this paper sought to explore how academic development programmes enable epistemological access to first-year students. This study employed a qualitative methodological approach and adopted a purposive sampling strategy to select the participants. The study interviewed twenty mentors participating in an academic development programme (mentorship) at a University of Technology. The findings highlights the role of academic development programme (mentorship programme) in enabling students to transition from unfamiliarity to familiarity within their chosen field of study, leading to an epistemic shift that alters their epistemological level. These findings can contribute to the broader discussions and advancements in higher education pedagogy by highlighting the importance of and understanding the mechanisms behind the mentorship programme. The implications of this study on higher education is to inform the design and implementation of effective initiatives that foster epistemological growth and empower students to engage with disciplinary knowledge more effectively

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition to academic support, psychosocial support was also identified as critical to firstyear students' academic success, allowing them to participate fully in their academic process- Social Sciences es [27]. Psychosocial support addresses students' emotional well-being, promoting mental health and resilience.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Epistemological access: a case of academic development programmes at a university of technology

Samosamo,

Divala

2023

Eureka: SH

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“…The high dropout rates remain problematic in the South African context, where the academic success of students from disadvantaged backgrounds continues to play a significant role both in achieving the redress and developmental agenda of the country, as well as fostering upward social mobility of graduates (Case et al, 2018;Statistics South Africa, 2017). The biggest challenge remains in the first year, and this is the level at which most student transition interventions have been explored and implemented (McConney, 2021). Many of these interventions have focused on students' transition from high school into higher education.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They have contributed significantly to the maturity of the firstyear experience literature in South Africa (Nyar, 2020). Some of the interventions that are currently being explored and implemented include, for example, those that focus on peer mentoring programmes (McConney, 2021). Some are exploring different academic advising models in their institutional contexts (Schoeman et al, 2021;Tiroyabone & Strydom, 2021;van Pletzen et al, 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Harnessing student agency for easier transition and success: The role of life coaching

Mogashana

Basitere²,

Ivala³

2023

JSAA

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The use of life coaching as an intervention to support students in higher education has been explored in other contexts in the global north and evidence points to its possible benefits in improving student success and well-being. Although there is new emerging research on the use of life coaching in the South African higher education context, there is a lack of empirical evidence pointing to its benefits. We report some results from a longitudinal study that investigated the use of small group life coaching intervention to support students. The objective of the intervention was to harness first-year chemical engineering students’ agency by proactively equipping them with knowledge and skills that improve their studies and lives. Four years after the intervention, using Archer’s social realist concepts of structure and agency, we evaluated how the life coaching intervention influenced students’ agency during their studies. Data was gathered through one-on-one semi-structured interviews with ten students who had participated in the intervention during their first year and were currently in the fourth year of their studies. The results indicate that the life coaching intervention enabled students to mediate academic and non-academic constraints. Concerning academic constraints, the life coaching intervention helped students manage the transition from high school, including adjusting to a new workload, time management, learning to collaborate with their peers and dealing with experiences of failure. Concerning non-academic constraints, the life coaching intervention helped students clarify their goals, increased their self-awareness, deal with negative emotions, boosted their self-confidence, and become more resilient during the Covid-19 pandemic. We recommend more empirical research to be carried out in different contexts across higher education institutions in South Africa to explore further the possible role that life coaching may play in empowering students with life-long skills, reducing dropout rates and improving chances of success.

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Facilitating adjustment during the first year: A study of the outcomes of the BeWell Peer Mentoring Programme

Abstract: The apartheid government used the term 'coloured' to categorise South Africans who were of mixed ancestry, i.e. from European ('white') and African ('black') ancestors. This racial category is still used, officially, by the South African government.

Cited by 2 publications

References 15 publications

Epistemological access: a case of academic development programmes at a university of technology

Epistemological access: a case of academic development programmes at a university of technology

Harnessing student agency for easier transition and success: The role of life coaching

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