Theses and dissertations (Management Sciences)

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://ir-dev.dut.ac.za/handle/10321/14

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English language proficiency and academic performance of first-year public relations diploma students at the Durban University of Technology
(2024-03) Mthembu, Lwazi; Lubombo, Musara
Instructional communication through a second language is considered the most challenging element for students who are not studying in their mother tongue. Students at the Durban University of Technology use English as a medium of instruction. Students also use English to access information knowledge, literacy and for survival at the institution. However, some of the students are speakers of English as a second language and come from under-resourced, historically disadvantaged secondary schools. Scholars suggests that some of these students often struggle to meet the demands of academic instruction in English. The primary purpose of this study was to explore how university students' experience of the English language as a medium of instruction at the Durban University of Technology affects non-native-speaking students' academic success. The study participants were first-year Public Relations Diploma students at DUT who are speakers of English as a second language. Data was collected through online focus group discussions conducted via the WhatsApp social media platform in 2022 with two categories of participants, namely ‘at-risk’ students, which refers to students who struggle to perform; and average students, meaning those who perform above the average. A deductive qualitative thematic analysis was employed to analyse the findings. Most participants in the study were isiZulu-speaking, while others were isiXhosa-speaking mostly hailing from poorly resourced public schools in rural areas. The findings suggest that the students were not proficient in English, the language of learning and teaching at DUT, and were struggling to survive linguistically in the academy. They revealed that in their previous grades, they used code-switching in school and the academic English used at university was difficult for them. However, some participants felt that the English language did not affect their academic performance negatively. To accommodate those struggling linguistically, translanguaging could be the utilised as an instructional communication strategy to enable students to draw upon their entire linguistic repertoire to access the unfamiliar discourse of academia and improve their academic performance.
An investigation of the factors that influence academic performance of students registered for Financial Management at Durban University of Technology (DUT)
(2022) Khumalo, Mhlonishwa; Mbali, Charlotte
The Durban University of Technology (DUT), whose vision is to be a centre of excellence in the heart of Africa, is keen on quality assurance and the maintenance of standards. However, the academic deans and quality assurance committee have noted that while some students perform highly, others do not perform well, raising concerns about those who do not perform well. This is particularly applicable in Financial Management Modules because should this poor performance go unchecked, the university may lose its reputation, which may result in a loss of confidence in DUT graduates amongst outside organisations. The study aimed at investigating the challenges encountered by students enrolled for Financial Management (FM) in order to establish strategies that can be adopted to improve performance. The research tool used was a questionnaire, which was then examined by quantitative methods. The sample consisted of 160 students enrolled in Financial Management courses. In order to preserve anonymity, their actual marks could not be used in the study, hence they were asked to gauge their own performance both in their Matriculation and in DUT examinations. This was then processed using the category data of their bio-characteristics (gender, age, type of school, mode of study) measured against their opinions of different modes of study used in FM courses at DUT. Some of the most important findings from the study results were that parental involvement with schoolwork resulted in a better Matric result, and that more of the third-year DUT students claimed this than the 4th years, indicating that parents are increasingly getting involved. At DUT, proportionately more 4 th years claimed lecturers as being most helpful, whereas for 3rd years, it was student-run groups. A notable 62.2 % of all respondents claimed that teaching methods in Financial Management should be revised. There was also a worrying number of nonresponses of up to 10%, for some of the teaching and learning methods, indicating that some registered students are not able to make full use of what is on offer. Lastly, another finding worth mentioning is the relationship between understanding terminology by respondents and the type of school they attended. Results showed that most of the respondents from rural and township schools had difficulty understanding terminology as compared to those from private schools.