Research Articles (Educational Psychology)
http://hdl.handle.net/2263/1759
2024-03-28T12:02:49ZThe dance of the positives and negatives of life : student wellbeing in the context of #FeesMustFall-related violence
http://hdl.handle.net/2263/95386
The dance of the positives and negatives of life : student wellbeing in the context of #FeesMustFall-related violence
Fadiji, Angelina Wilson; Luescher, T.; Morwe, K.
Violence has become a regular occurrence in the context of the South African student movement. However, to date there are no studies that investigate student wellbeing in the context of student movement violence. How are violence and wellbeing experienced in the context of the student movement? What resources do students draw upon to protect or restore their wellbeing during and in the aftermath of violence? This article discusses students' experiences of violence and wellbeing and particularly the resources that fostered their psychological wellbeing during and after experiences of violence related to the #FeesMustFall protests of 2015/16. The study used a photovoice methodology and worked with groups of former student activists from four universities in South Africa. Student psychological functioning in the midst of adverse circumstances is demonstrated in their ability to make meaning of their experiences by inventing knowledge spaces; creating spaces of inner harmony; having a sense of purpose; and protecting symbolic spaces of hope. It is also shown in their courage to challenge spaces of oppression. This study suggests that the co-production of social space for functioning occurs through an important psychological process of meaning-making that provides direction for student movement activities. Given our findings, it is recommended for student affairs and counselling services to m,./=-09864 facilitate the co-creation of spaces of knowledge and spaces of safety, spaces where students can experience being wanted and connected, and spaces where they can make sense of their experiences in the unfamiliar and potentially alienating higher education space.
2023-05-01T00:00:00ZPerceptions of academic resilience by senior phase learners and teachers from low socioeconomic schools
http://hdl.handle.net/2263/95089
Perceptions of academic resilience by senior phase learners and teachers from low socioeconomic schools
Mampane, Motlalepule Ruth
This article reports on the perceptions of academic resilience of Grade 8 and Grade 9 learners and their teachers in low socioeconomic township schools. Learners from township schools experience many risk factors that can impede their academic success and careers. A lack of resources is one of the risk factors experienced by the learners. During COVID-19, where an online or hybrid learning model was relied on for teaching and learning, most township schools relied on the rotational learning model instead. The study’s main aim is to evaluate and understand the learners’ perceptions of their academic strengths, future aspirations and motivation, and to compare their perceptions with those that emerged from their teachers’ blind evaluations. The participants were teachers (n = 8) and learners (n = 12) from two purposively sampled township secondary schools. Data-generation instruments included semi-structured interviews for learners and a self-constructed Likert-type-scale questionnaire for teachers. Content analysis was used to analyse the data. The findings suggest that risk factors to academic resilience exist within the family and the school environment. Lack of parental support and school security, poor teacher-learner relationship and unemployment were frequently mentioned. However, factors that can enhance academic resilience were also identified within the family, school and community. Risks and protective factors affecting learners’ immediate threats and needs were identified. Access to technology and the need for technological advances were not identified as resources or risks. Future research should examine the relationship between resilience, academic resilience, career aspirations and the role of technology in education.
2023-03-01T00:00:00ZCognitive coping strategies that supported teacher resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic
http://hdl.handle.net/2263/95015
Cognitive coping strategies that supported teacher resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic
Williams, Elisma; Ferreira, Ronel; Botha, Tanita
Limited research focusing on the cognitive strategies that support the resilience of teachers in a world pandemic has been conducted. By employing a sequential explanatory mixed method research design, this study was undertaken to investigate how cognitive coping strategies supported teacher resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic. For data collection/generation and capturing/documentation, an online questionnaire (Phase 1, quantitative) was completed by 240 urban school teachers, and online participatory focus groups (Phase 2, qualitative) with 24 of these respondents were facilitated. In support, observation, audio-recordings, field notes and a reflective journal augmented data generation. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for analysis of the quantitative data, and a hybrid thematic analysis approach was followed to analyse the qualitative data. Thereafter, the quantitative and qualitative results were integrated to achieve the purpose of the study. The results from analyses included the Spearman correlation coefficient which tested a value of 0.327 (p-value = < 0.001), indicating a significant and positive correlation between problem-focused coping and resilience. Cognitive strategies indicated to support resilience included active coping, planning, suppression of competing activities, restraint coping, seeking of instrumental social support and nurturing a growth mindset. The cognitive strategies identified in this study informs good practice principles and can direct the professional training of both psychologists and educators. Future research and interventions aimed at promoting teacher resilience by employing cognitive coping strategies may be conducted based on the findings of the study.
2023-12-01T00:00:00ZStudent resilience to COVID-19-related school disruptions : the value of historic school engagement
http://hdl.handle.net/2263/94659
Student resilience to COVID-19-related school disruptions : the value of historic school engagement
Theron, Linda C.; Ungar, Michael; Holtge, Jan
Does historic school engagement buffer the threats of disrupted schooling – such as those associated with the widespread COVID-19-related school closures – to school engagement equally for female and male high school students? This article responds to that pressing question. To do so, it reports a study that was conducted in 2018 and 2020 with the same sample of South African students (n = 172; 66.30% female; average age in 2020: 18.13). A moderated moderation model of the 2018 and 2020 data showed that historic levels of school engagement buffered the negative effects of disrupted schooling on subsequent school engagement (R² = .43, β = −5.09, p < .05). This protective effect was significant for girl students at moderate and high levels of historic school engagement, but not at lower levels of historic school engagement. Disrupted schooling did not significantly affect school engagement for male students at any level of historic school engagement. In addition, student perceptions of teacher kindness were associated with higher school engagement and having experienced an adverse event at school with lower school engagement. The results point to the importance of facilitating school engagement and enabling school environments – also when schooling is disrupted.
2023-04-01T00:00:00Z