Faculty of Health Sciences and Veterinary Medicine

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Browsing Faculty of Health Sciences and Veterinary Medicine by Subject "Academic performance"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    Investigating the factors that affect academic performance of first year psychology and sociology students at the University of Namibia
    (2019) Mukonga, Lenah; Pieters, Wesley R.; Hlatywayo, Clifford
    Stress is inevitable; it has become part of students’ lives as they work hard and compete at every stage of their academic careers. Students’ academic performance at tertiary institutions is affected by stress and their levels of motivation. The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of stress, motivation and teaching styles of lecturers on first year students’ academic performance. This is because reducing students’ stress levels and finding ways to increase their levels of motivation would result in better academic performance; a greater understanding of factors underlying academic stress is believed to lead to improved stress management strategies and academic success; and this understanding would facilitate the development of effective counselling modules and intervention strategies by student counsellors to help students alleviate stress. The sample consisted of students from the University of Namibia’s main campus in Windhoek (n=321). The study questionnaire collected data on the biographical details, motivation, perceived stress, teaching style experienced and academic performance of first year Psychology and Sociology students of 2018. This study found that extrinsic motivation, amotivation and perceived stress negatively affected academic performance. Teaching style (facilitating expert style) positively affected motivation to know, motivation to achieve and extrinsic motivation. Motivation to know and motivation to achieve reported a positive effect on academic performance.
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    Relating intensive and compulsive Facebook use with life satisfaction and academic performance amongst first year University of Namibia students
    (University of Namibia, 2018) De Kock, Iani
    As a new field of study, the impact of Facebook use is not well understood. Consequently, this descriptive quantitative cross-sectional study aims to address identified gaps by collecting Namibian specific data on the intensive Facebook use (IFU) and compulsive Facebook use (CFU) of first year students from the University of Namibia and describing how IFU and CFU relate to each other and to academic performance, life satisfaction and user characteristics. Using random sampling from a list of Computer Literacy classes, data were collected from 559 students by means of a self-report questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, simple and multiple hierarchical linear regression analysis were conducted. The sample was comprised of 63.4% females and 36.6% male aged on average 22.6 years (ranging from 18 to 52). The user profiles revealed Facebook use in Namibia is similar to Facebook use globally, except that Namibians have relatively more Facebook friends. The major findings include the positive correlation between IFU and CFU (r = .454, p < 0.01) with IFU explaining 20.6% of the variance in the CFU scores. Hence, the more integrated Facebook is in the lives of its users, the more likely they are to also use Facebook compulsively. Neither IFU nor CFU relate to grade average or life satisfaction, but rather appear to predict academic impairment due to Facebook use, jointly accounting for 32.3% of the variance. However, controlling for covariance between IFU and CFU reveals that academic impairment due to Facebook use (missing class, poor sleep and social withdrawal) is more likely to follow compulsive Facebook use, which, in turn, negatively affects their grade average (R2 = 0.03, p < 0.01) and satisfaction with life (R2 = 0.015, p < .001). This study will hopefully raise awareness of the impact of excessive Facebook use and enable Namibia to participate in the global debate about Facebook use and its consequences.
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    The relationship between life satisfaction, learner engagement and academic perfprmance in adolescents in selected public secondary schools in Windhoek, Namibia
    (University of Namibia, 2017) Rainey, Laura-Anne
    High school learners are at risk of becoming disengaged and demotivated at school which could negatively affect their academic performance or even more drastically, result in them dropping out of school. The Namibian education authorities have several concerns relating to poor national results and the increasing dropout statistics of learners. In addition, Namibia’s high unemployment rate has been attributed to its general low levels of education and lack of skilled and educated people. Engaged learners are self-regulated, establish their own academic goals and evaluate their achievements, successfully direct their own learning and remain engaged. Research shows that life satisfaction can play a positive role in improving engagement levels in students and learners. Empirical evidence indicates that engaged learners tend to perform better academically, have lower dropout rates, improved psychological functioning and pursue higher education. Fredrickson's broaden-and-build theory offers an explanation for this by suggesting that the experience of frequent positive emotions such as high life satisfaction and engagement can broaden cognition which leads to an accumulation of personal, physical, behavioural and social resources that improve human functioning. However, life satisfaction and engagement research involving adolescents is still limited and from the Namibian context, no similar studies were found. The aim of this research is to evaluate the levels of life satisfaction, learner engagement and academic performance among adolescents in selected public secondary schools in Windhoek, Namibia and investigate whether these constructs influence one another in any way. A cross-sectional descriptive survey design was used with a sample population of 540 high school learners from public schools in Windhoek. The measuring instruments that were used were the Multidimensional Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale (MSLSS), the Work Engagement Scale (WES) which was adapted for the school context, a researcher-developed biographical questionnaire, a researcher-designed academic self-report and an academic self-report. Statistical analysis was conducted in terms of descriptive, correlational, t-tests, ANOVAs and multiple regression analysis. The results suggested that there are significant positive relationships between life satisfaction and learner engagement and also between learner engagement and academic performance. No significant relationship was found between gender and grade levels influencing life satisfaction, learner engagement and academic performance. The age of the learners did, however, account for the large variation seen in academic performance, with average academic performance decreasing with an increase in the learners’ age. The results gathered concluded that life satisfaction is a significant predictor of learner engagement and learner engagement is a significant predictor of academic performance. There was no significant predictive relationship directly between life satisfaction and academic performance. The results from this study validate the potential benefits of developing intervention programmes directed towards increasing learners’ levels of engagement with the intention of improving academic performance. Future research initiatives involving these constructs are needed as there is still a lack of information about their value specifically to the Namibian context.
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    Student engagement at Polytechnic of Namibia: Implications for teaching staff and academic performance
    (2013) Shimaneni, Fiina
    This study measured engagement levels among students; determined the impact of resources usage and established to which extent students experience demands on their study. The study further explored the implications of engagement levels and resource usage to curriculum design, teaching staff and academic performance. A survey design was used, with questionnaires distributed to a randomly selected sample of 123 students. Data was analyzed using the SPSS 18.0 program (SPSS, 2009). Data was organized into three different strands such as Student Engagement Levels, Resources Usage and Study demands. Student engagement levels were classified into three categories, namely those who were highly engaged; those who were moderately engaged and those who were slightly engaged in their study. The main finding was that the levels of engagement among students were moderate. The study also found that resources such as Library, Computer Laboratory and Lecturers were generally put to good use. Some of the resources that were not well appreciated by students were Student representative assistance and Student Counsellors assistance. It was also found that most students experienced high demands and pressure from their study. These findings have important and relevant implications on curriculum design, teaching staff and academic performance, as engagement and appropriate curriculum are critical elements in student’s academic success and learning.