PEER MENTORING: ENHANCING ECONOMICS FIRST YEARS' ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE.
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| Title: | PEER MENTORING: ENHANCING ECONOMICS FIRST YEARS' ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Dos Reis, K. M.1 kdosreis@uwc.ac.za, Yu, D.1 dyu@uwc.ac.za |
| Source: | South African Journal of Higher Education. 2018, Vol. 32 Issue 6, p234-250. 17p. 3 Charts, 1 Graph. |
| Subject Terms: | *Academic achievement, *Mentoring in education, *Higher education, *Student participation, *School dropouts |
| Abstract: | South African higher education institutions have been grappling with the high dropout rate, specifically at first year level. Despite universities' attempts to implement various strategies to increase student retention, there is very little or no empirical warrant to validate these attempts of research in the South African context. Hence, the aim of this study is to explore how disciplinespecific peer mentoring impacts first year students' academic performance. The two most significant findings of this study are that firstly, the mean continuous assessment mark of the mentees (73.6) is significantly higher compared to students who were not mentees and, secondly, the mentees' final examination performance was also higher (60.9 versus 52.9). This study highlights the possibilities of using peer mentoring to improve first years' academic performance. The evidence as revealed in the study provides insights into these possibilities. For example, the peer mentees indicated that they the peer mentors weekly motivational messages inspired them to continue with their studies and the continuous support from the peer mentors assisted them to understand the difficult concepts of Economics. While this study did not focus on the peer mentors, we also found that they were willing to participate voluntarily in this programme, as they believed that there are multiple benefits to being a peer mentor. We argue that the implementation of discipline-specific peer mentoring programmes across all disciplines could facilitate student retention and increase the overall pass rate of first year students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of South African Journal of Higher Education is the property of Sabinet Online Limited and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Education Research Complete |
| FullText | Links: – Type: pdflink Text: Availability: 0 |
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| Header | DbId: ehh DbLabel: Education Research Complete An: 133412893 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: PEER MENTORING: ENHANCING ECONOMICS FIRST YEARS' ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Dos+Reis%2C+K%2E+M%2E%22">Dos Reis, K. M.</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><i> kdosreis@uwc.ac.za</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Yu%2C+D%2E%22">Yu, D.</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><i> dyu@uwc.ac.za</i> – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22South+African+Journal+of+Higher+Education%22">South African Journal of Higher Education</searchLink>. 2018, Vol. 32 Issue 6, p234-250. 17p. 3 Charts, 1 Graph. – Name: Subject Label: Subject Terms Group: Su Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Academic+achievement%22">Academic achievement</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Mentoring+in+education%22">Mentoring in education</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Higher+education%22">Higher education</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Student+participation%22">Student participation</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22School+dropouts%22">School dropouts</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: South African higher education institutions have been grappling with the high dropout rate, specifically at first year level. Despite universities' attempts to implement various strategies to increase student retention, there is very little or no empirical warrant to validate these attempts of research in the South African context. Hence, the aim of this study is to explore how disciplinespecific peer mentoring impacts first year students' academic performance. The two most significant findings of this study are that firstly, the mean continuous assessment mark of the mentees (73.6) is significantly higher compared to students who were not mentees and, secondly, the mentees' final examination performance was also higher (60.9 versus 52.9). This study highlights the possibilities of using peer mentoring to improve first years' academic performance. The evidence as revealed in the study provides insights into these possibilities. For example, the peer mentees indicated that they the peer mentors weekly motivational messages inspired them to continue with their studies and the continuous support from the peer mentors assisted them to understand the difficult concepts of Economics. While this study did not focus on the peer mentors, we also found that they were willing to participate voluntarily in this programme, as they believed that there are multiple benefits to being a peer mentor. We argue that the implementation of discipline-specific peer mentoring programmes across all disciplines could facilitate student retention and increase the overall pass rate of first year students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of South African Journal of Higher Education is the property of Sabinet Online Limited and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
| PLink | https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=ehh&AN=133412893 |
| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.20853/32-6-2979 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 17 StartPage: 234 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Academic achievement Type: general – SubjectFull: Mentoring in education Type: general – SubjectFull: Higher education Type: general – SubjectFull: Student participation Type: general – SubjectFull: School dropouts Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: PEER MENTORING: ENHANCING ECONOMICS FIRST YEARS' ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Dos Reis, K. M. – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Yu, D. IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 11 Text: 2018 Type: published Y: 2018 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 10113487 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 32 – Type: issue Value: 6 Titles: – TitleFull: South African Journal of Higher Education Type: main |
| ResultId | 1 |
