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Theses and dissertations (Management Sciences)

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

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Subject: search.filters.subject.Academic achievement

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    An investigation into the effects of staff participation on the pass rate for an electrical engineering course at a University of Technology
    (2023-04) Moodlier, Sunthrasagren; Haripersad, Rajesh
    The purpose of this study was to test the impact of individual participation and teamwork on the pass rate of first-semester Electrical Engineering students at Durban University of Technology (DUT). South Africa's economic growth remains reliant on critical and scarce skills such as engineering. As a result, any institution of higher learning should make engineering training and education a priority. Collaboration and participation are critical components of any successful educational system. Assimilation of module content, readiness for assessment, perceptions of support from lecturers individually or collectively, and perceptions of the results are all significant variables in this study. A mixed methods approach was used to accomplish the study's objectives. The quantitative method was chosen to design the survey and collect data from all registered first-year students enrolled in the Electrical Engineering 1 laboratory module. A questionnaire was distributed to 344 students enrolled in the Electrical Engineering 1 laboratory module. Qualitative data were gathered through interviews with lecturers on the module at the Department of Electrical Engineering. The study discovered a positive and significant correlation between student pass rates and teamwork and individual participation in service. Additionally, the study discovered that first-year students have favourable attitudes toward the service provided by Electrical Engineering laboratory technicians. This implied that students were more likely to assimilate module content and be prepared for assessment if departmental teamwork was emphasised to increase pass rates. The study recommends a new approach for identifying students who require additional individual attention to improve their academic performance using these variables. Students must be viewed as partners in the lecturers' pedagogical approaches following the collaborative approach, which involves all stakeholders in decision-making for continuous improvement.
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    A systems approach to the production and retention of academic staff with PhD : a case study of a University of Technology
    (2021-05) Kotelana, Ethel
    Compared to most countries with similar economies, South Africa presents figures that reflect that per million there is a critical shortage of doctorate holders. Doctoral education has been linked to economic growth and global competitiveness; however, several scholars have bemoaned the country’s extremely small doctoral output in relation to its economic and social development needs. The higher education (HE) system has set a throughput rate of 20% per annum but higher education institutions have, to date, only achieved 11%. This should come as no surprise as decades into democracy the South Africa HE system is still reliant upon the top 10 traditional universities for its doctoral graduate output. This anomaly can be attributed to how these higher educational institutions were established during apartheid and their approved programme qualification mix (PQM) mandates. During this period in South African history, only traditional white universities located in urban areas had the required research infrastructure and were permitted to offer doctoral degrees. This lack of access to further postgraduate training left South Africa with a dearth in highly skilled academics (professoriate), of which an estimated 20% will retire within a decade leaving a vacuum in the higher education system. Efforts to fill this vacuum are hampered by the following factors: i) there is a global demand for the limited available academic talent, ii) the current South African doctoral output is inadequate to replace its ageing professoriate at an equivalent rate, iii) programmes aimed at developing the next generation of academics (nGAP) have not been fully implemented, further, the posts complement constitutes a mere 25% of the country’s needs. The nGAP programme had envisaged the allocation of 15 posts per institution to meet the annual demand for academics however to date it has only managed 5 posts on average since inception in 2016. This study thus seeks to explore the challenges of producing and retaining academic staff with PhDs within and from outside the nGAP programme in the UoT sector and, in particular, at one institution through a systems lens. The study focusses then on XYZ institution and adopts a systems lens approach. From data analysis it has emerged that the profiles of PhD candidates in the country and the production and retention of academic staff with PhDs are the key determinants of the percentage of academic staff with PhDs. A qualitative system dynamics causal loop diagram (QCLD) conceptual model that illustrates the dynamics between these variables is presented and discussed. CLDs were chosen as they are powerful tools that visually illustrate the interdependence and interrelationships between variables embedded in any system under review and assist in the identification of leverage points for effective policy intervention.
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    The integration of general education in the academic programme to enhance the self-efficacy of Accounting students at universities of technology in KwaZulu-Natal
    (2021-10) Naidoo, Suntharmurthy Kristnasamy; Govender, S.; Moodley, Viv
    The current study can be attributed to the poor graduation rate of learners in the Management Accounting qualification and the essential factors preventing learners from achieving a good grade in the Management Accounting module. In addition to formal training, such as owning a company and obtaining a degree in Accounting, accountants generally need a range of skills in order to be effective. Clear interpersonal communication, customer service, critical thought, analysis and writing are all necessary skills. The skills mentioned are components that form part of General Education. Moreover, it is essential that learners believe in their capabilities to succeed in the Accounting module in particular and business in general. The cost of failure by learners has a negative impact on both the public and private sectors. Thus, the research set out to examine the relationship between General Education and Self-efficacy of Accounting learners. The term Self-efficacy at its very elementary point refers to the confidence in one's aptitude to accomplish specific tasks. Albert Bandura takes it a step further and defines Self-efficacy as an individual’s belief about their capabilities to produce designated levels of performance that exercise influence over events that affect their lives For the purposes of the present study, the target population comprised first year students registered for the Cost and Management Accounting module and lecturers from the Department of Management Accounting. The research was structured within both a quantitative and qualitative research approach by means of a questionnaire and semi-structured interview schedule. The questionnaire was prepared using a 5-point Likert Scale with closed-ended and structured questions. The interview schedule consisted of questions that allowed for probing. The findings from the quantitative aspect of the study provided valuable information, indicating similarities between the level of Self-efficacy in learners prior to undertaking the General Education Modules and those who did not undertake the General Education Modules. The study only noted a significant difference in the post-test (Self-efficacy) scores of the group that undertook the General Education Modules and not with the group that did not undertake the General Education Modules. The interviews revealed that there is an opportunity for the improvement of General Education skills. Hence, the main strategy would be to incorporate General Education skills into the curriculum. Similar to General Education skills, there is also a lack of Self-efficacy in current learners. Further attention must be devoted to communication skills, as these are essential. These skills appear to be very poor amongst current learners and respondents believed that Self-efficacy could have a positive effect on the academic performance of learners. Methods for enhancing Self-efficacy reveal that the main strategies should revolve around innovative teaching, learning and research methods; increasing skills development such as critical thinking and computer skills; and promoting more Self-efficacy based workshops and programmes.