Department of Industrial Psychology

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Browsing Department of Industrial Psychology by Subject "Academic achievement -- South Africa"

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    Developing emotional intelligence as a key psychological resource reservoir for sustained student success
    (AOSIS Publishing, 2015-07) Gorgens-Ekermans, Gina; Delport, Marthinus; Du Preez, Ronel
    Orientation: The dire educational situation in South Africa has urged researchers to investigate predictors of sustained student success. - Research purpose: To investigate to what extent an Emotional Intelligence (EI) intervention impacts the level of EI, and critical psychological resources (affect balance, cognitive thought- pattern strategies as a sub-component of self-leadership, perceived stress and academic self- efficacy) necessary for student success. - Motivation for the study: Non-cognitive personal resources (such as EI) may indirectly contribute to student success. - Research design, approach and method: A controlled experimental research design was conducted to test the effect of an EI developmental intervention on affect balance, academic self-efficacy, cognitive thought-pattern strategies, and perceived stress, using a sample of first-year students (n = 114). - Main findings: Limited support of the utility of the intervention to increase EI emerged; whilst stronger support emerged that academic self-efficacy was affected by the intervention. No direct empirical support for the impact of increased EI on the other measured psychological resources was obtained, although some trends in the data could be observed. - Practical/managerial implications: Investments in EI developmental interventions, as part of student-support initiatives, should be further investigated to sufficiently justify its potential to influence sustained student success. - Contribution/value-add: The results of this study lay a foundation that suggest EI could be malleable and influence academic self-efficacy. More research is necessary regarding supplementary teaching and learning initiatives focused on non-cognitive personal resources, which are complementary to the academic offering at tertiary institutions, with the expectation of increasing the student success rates.
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    Developing emotional intelligence for sustained student success
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2014-04) Delport, Marthinus; Gorgens, Gina; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. Dept. of Industrial Psychology.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The dire educational situation in South Africa has urged researchers to investigate possible predictors of academic success. There seems to be an increasing emphasis on non–cognitive factors that might play a role in determining the academic performance of students. In this study various unique challenges first-year students face were underlined, followed by possible key psychological resources needed to overcome such challenges. These resources include self-regulatory skills (i.e. self-leadership and emotional regulation), psychological well-being and constructive self-efficacy beliefs that could all ultimately help determine an individual’s academic success. It was hypothesised that Emotional Intelligence (EI) are central to these psychological resources and play a crucial role in the adaption and performance of first-year students in higher educational institutions. In this study an EI development programme was therefore implemented in order to evaluate whether it is possible to provide students with a powerful resource reservoir (i.e. high EI capabilities) in order to empower them to acquire additional personal and psychological resource (i.e. academic self-leadership, academic self-efficacy and well-being) that are needed to attain academic success. The findings of this study revealed that the EI development programme succeeded in elevating students’ EI, which also led to moderate improvements in their psychological well-being (i.e. less perceived stress), as well as the enhancement of their academic self-leadership (ASL) and academic self-efficacy (ASE) skills and abilities. Institutes of higher education should therefore rethink the emphasis they place on cognitive abilities alone and consider the strategy of also providing opportunities to enhance non-cognitive predictors of academic success. For example, by implementing EI development programmes, such as the one tested in this research, students have a greater chance of developing the necessary self-direction and self-regulation skills necessary to reach academic greatness which, most probably, will also facilitate better employability and career success.
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    Development and evaluation of an Academic Performance Structural Model for a sample of tertiary students in South Africa
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2022-04) Swanepoel, Kayla; Boonzaier, Billy; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. Dept. of Industrial Psychology.
    ENGLISH SUMMARY: Given the low socio-economic status of a large percentage of South African citizens, the alleviation of poverty, unemployment and income inequality poses a core concern which could partly be addressed by the increased attainment of tertiary academic qualifications by a larger number of citizens. Far-reaching repercussions that have persisted for years following the abolishment of the Apartheid regime, have resulted in income inequalities, high levels of poverty and continued disadvantage (Statistics South Africa, 2017a). The COVID-19 pandemic placed further strain on an already struggling economy (Council on Higher Education, 2020). Research shows that educational attainment is closely correlated with poverty and inequality in populations. During the COVID-19 pandemic, South Africans with lower educational levels were more likely to receive reduced salaries than those with higher levels of education (Statistics South Africa, 2020). Therefore, educating a larger number of South African citizens at a tertiary level presents a sustainable, long-term solution for the creation of more skilled and semi-skilled individuals in the country over time. The current study therefore sought to identify the most salient antecedents of variance in the tertiary academic performance of South African students. From the literature, the variables of mental toughness, imposing student ‘job’ demands, stress surplus, and engagement were identified as possible antecedents to academic performance outcomes. The job demands-resources model (JD-R model) was identified as the most suitable theoretical framework to guide the study. A structural model was developed and empirically tested to explain the complex interactions between the variables and to determine whether/to what degree the variables cause variance in the tertiary academic performance in the sample of undergraduate students at Stellenbosch University in South Africa. After obtaining ethical clearance, institutional permission, and informed consent from the respective parties, quantitative data were collected electronically (via email) from a sample of 600+ undergraduate tertiary students. The human rights of the participants were respected throughout the research process by strictly adhering to research ethics. Participants were asked to complete a voluntary, self-administered, online questionnaire consisting of six sections, namely biographical information, academic performance information, job demands items, mental toughness items, stress overload items, and engagement items. The items were combined to form a composite questionnaire. To empirically test the data, an exploratory ex post facto correlational research design was followed. The statistical techniques of Item Analysis (IA), Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), and Partial Least Squares (PLS) Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) were utilised to analyse the data, after which the various hypotheses were tested. Seven path-specific hypotheses with five main interaction effects and two moderating interaction effects were formulated. From the results, the five main hypotheses were found to be statistically significant with one hypothesis not moving in the direction proposed by the literature. Neither of the hypothesised moderating effects were found to be statistically significant. The objectives of the study were reflected on, limitations of the study and recommendations for future researchers were provided, followed by the provision of various practical implications and suggestions from the research findings.