The effect of selected academic development programmes on the academic performance of ...

299 Pages·2012·2.83 MB·English

The effect of selected academic development programmes on the academic
performance of academic development students at a South African university:
An empirical analysis

by
Leonard Cowper Smith

Thesis presented for the degree of
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
in the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment
UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN

February 2012
To
T.M.S., S.P.M.S. and C.P.M.S.

ii
Table of contents

Acknowledgements vi

Abstract vii

A note on “race” viii

List of figures ix

List of tables x

List of appendices xiii

Abbreviations and acronyms xiv

Chapter 1 Introduction 1

Chapter 2 Context for the study: Academic development programmes at UCT
(CADP, ASPECT and GEPS) 10

2.1 Academic development programmes (ADP) in South Africa 10
2.2 ADP in the Faculties of Commerce, Engineering and the Built Environment, and
Science 11
2.2.1 Commerce Academic Development Programme (CADP) 11
2.2.2 Academic Support Programme for Engineering in Cape Town
(ASPECT) 15
2.2.3 General Entry for Programmes in Science (GEPS) 17
2.3 Summary comments 20

Chapter 3 Methodology and research design 23

3.1 Methodology 23
3.1.1 Threats to internal validity 26
3.2 Research design 35
3.2.1 Course performance 35
3.2.2 Graduation performance 37

Chapter 4 Literature review 39

4.1 Education production function ‒ outputs 41
4.2 Education process ‒ epistemological access and learning 43
4.2.1 Learning, language, reading, writing and study skills 44
4.3 Education production function ‒ inputs 46
4.3.1 Student characteristics 48
4.3.2 School-leaving subjects 60
4.3.3 School characteristics 64
4.3.4 Course characteristics 65
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4.4 Academic development programmes 66
4.4.1 International research 67
4.4.2 South African research 70
4.5 Summary discussion 77

Chapter 5 Empirical specification and data base construction 79

5.1 Empirical specification 79
5.1.1 Output or dependent variables 81
5.1.2 Input or independent variables 81
5.2 Data base construction 86

Chapter 6 Analysis of first-year data 87

6.1 Microeconomics (Commerce) 87
6.1.1 Characteristics of the academic development and mainstream cohorts 88
6.1.2 Data and results 89
6.1.3 Concluding remarks 108
6.2 Mathematics (Engineering) 108
6.2.1 Characteristics of the academic development and mainstream cohorts 109
6.2.2 Data and results 110
6.2.3 Concluding remarks 121
6.3 Chemistry (Science) 121
6.3.1 Characteristics of the academic development and mainstream cohorts 122
6.3.2 Data and results 123
6.3.3 Concluding remarks 133
6.4 Summary discussion 133

Chapter 7 Analysis of second-year data 141

7.1 Microeconomics (Commerce) 141
7.1.1 Characteristics of the academic development and mainstream cohorts 143
7.1.2 Data and results 144
7.1.3 Concluding remarks 159
7.2 Mathematics (Engineering) 160
7.2.1 Characteristics of the academic development and mainstream cohorts 160
7.2.2 Data and results 161
7.2.3 Concluding remarks 170
7.3 Chemistry (Science) 171
7.3.1 Characteristics of the academic development and mainstream cohorts 171
7.3.2 Data and results 172
7.3.3 Concluding remarks 179
7.4 Summary discussion 179

Chapter 8 Analysis of graduation data 184

8.1 Characteristics of the academic development and mainstream cohorts 184
8.2 Data and results 187
8.2.1 Analysis of data 187
8.2.2 Estimation results 190
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8.3 Summary discussion 199

Chapter 9 Discussion and conclusion 204

9.1 Statistical methods 204
9.2 Discussion of results 206
9.2.1 First-year studies 207
9.2.2 Second-year studies 209
9.2.3 Graduation studies 210
9.3 Implications of the results 213
9.4 Policy implications 222
9.5 Avenues for future research 229

Appendices 234

References 249

v
Acknowledgements

I am most grateful for the contribution made to this work by the following people:

my supervisors, Jenni Case, Duncan Fraser, Corné van Walbeek and Vimal Ranchhod, for
their careful reading of the text, sound advice, and enthusiastic support;

my colleagues, June Pym, Ian Scott and Nan Yeld, for encouraging me to pursue my research
and for supporting my application for research leave;

Lawrence Edwards, for encouraging and supporting my early interest in the subject;

Fiona Gibbons, for her patience in meeting my many requests for data; and

Patricia Myers Smith, for her careful and thoughtful edit of the manuscript.

vi
Abstract

The case studies that make up this thesis cover the three largest academic development
programmes at the University of Cape Town. A variety of statistical methods are used to
estimate the effect of educational interventions in selected first- and second-year academic
development courses on the academic performance of academic development students in
these courses and through to graduation, relative to mainstream students.

In general, research in this area in South Africa and internationally has been characterised by
small sample sizes and a lack of statistical rigour. Few studies control for the range of
independent variables that can affect students’ academic performance, in addition to the
academic development programme or course, and the great majority ignore the sample-
selection problem that arises in the selection of students for academic development and
mainstream programmes.

The theoretical rationale underpinning this thesis is informed by the postpositivist and
evidence-based approaches to empirical investigation. Demographic, academic and other data
for some 9000 students for the years 1999‒2005 was obtained from the university’s data base
and academic departments. Statistical techniques including multivariate analysis and
propensity score matching are used in an attempt to finesse the problems associated with the
use of non-experimental data as students are selected into different courses and programmes.

The key findings, subject to the caveats associated with the use of non-experimental data, are
that the educational interventions included in the first-year academic development courses
offered by the university’s three largest academic development programmes are effective in
improving academic development students’ academic performance in selected first- and
second-year courses relative to mainstream students, conditional on the selected control
variables. The same is true of the educational interventions included in selected second-year
courses. The effect of the educational interventions included in the first-year courses does
not, however, have a statistically significant impact on academic development students’
graduation rates relative to mainstream students, conditional on the selected control variables.

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A note on “race”

South Africa’s Population Registration Act (Act 30 of 1950) made it mandatory for people in
South Africa to be classified into a variety of population groups, for example “white”,
“black”, “Indian” and “coloured”. This Act was repealed in 1991 and no similar classificatory
legislation currently applies.

However, for equity purposes the University of Cape Town’s application form asks South
African citizens and permanent residents applying to study to declare their population group:
black, coloured, Indian, white or Chinese.

Therefore, in the context of this thesis the terms “white”, “Indian”, “black” and “coloured”
refer to this self-declaration. It is likely that the majority of students declare themselves to
belong to the same “population group” as that to which their parents and other family
members were consigned by the pre-1994 apartheid state.

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List of figures

Figure 4.1 Education production function 40
Figure C1 Outline of the parameters of the case studies 243
Figure D1 Common support first-year microeconomics 244
Figure D2 Common support first-year mathematics 245
Figure D3 Common support first-year chemistry 245
Figure D4 Common support second-year microeconomics period 1 246
Figure D5 Common support second-year microeconomics period 2 246
Figure D6 Common support second-year mathematics 247
Figure D7 Common support graduation commerce 247
Figure D8 Common support graduation engineering 248
Figure D9 Common support graduation science 248

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List of tables

Table 3.1 National Senior Certificate pass rates (1998‒2004) 34
Table 6.1 Control variables first-year microeconomics 89
Table 6.2 Examination and final results for ECO1010H and ECO1010S cohorts 90
Table 6.3 Results of the multiple-choice question, structured/essay question
and examination Heckman two-step OLS estimations 92
Table 6.4 Results of the multiple-choice question, structured/essay question
and examination OLS estimations 95
Table 6.5 Selected coefficients from the first-year microeconomics interaction OLS
estimation 101
Table 6.6 Results of the multiple-choice question and structured/essay question
OLS estimations for each of the ECO1010H and ECO1010S cohorts 102
Table 6.7 Result of the PSM probit and matching estimations for first-year
microeconomics 104
Table 6.8 Results of the PSM estimations for first-year microeconomics 105
Table 6.9 Examination and course pass rates for the ECO1010H cohorts 107
Table 6.10 Control variables first-year mathematics 110
Table 6.11 Course results for the ASPECT and mainstream cohorts 111
Table 6.12 Results of the Heckman two-step and OLS estimations for first-year
mathematics 112
Table 6.13 Selected coefficients from the first-year mathematics interaction OLS
estimation 116
Table 6.14 Results of the OLS estimations for each of the ASPECT and
mainstream cohorts 117
Table 6.15 Result of the PSM probit and matching estimations for first-year
mathematics 119
Table 6.16 Result of the PSM estimation for first-year mathematics 120
Table 6.17 Course pass rates for the ASPECT cohorts 120
Table 6.18 Control variables first-year chemistry 123
Table 6.19 Course results for GEPS (CEM1009H) and mainstream cohorts 124
Table 6.20 Course results for GEPS (CEM1010F) and mainstream cohorts 125
Table 6.21 Results of the OLS and logit estimations for first-year chemistry 126
Table 6.22 Results of the OLS estimations for each of the GEPS and mainstream
cohorts 129
Table 6.23 Result of the PSM probit and matching estimations for first-year
chemistry 131
Table 6.24 Result of the PSM estimation first-year chemistry 132
Table 6.25 Course pass rates for the GEPS cohorts 132
Table 6.26 Control variables for each of the first-year AD and mainstream courses 134
Table 6.27 Results for each of the first-year AD and mainstream courses 135
Table 6.28 Results of the examination and course mark standard OLS estimations
for each of the three first-year courses 136
Table 6.29 Results of the examination and course mark standard OLS estimations
for each of the AD courses 139
Table 7.1 Control variables for second-year microeconomics 143
Table 7.2 ECO2003F academic performance and throughput rates:
AD (ECO1010H) and mainstream cohorts (ECO1010S and ECO1010F
(includes ECO1010S)) 144
x