Can extended curriculum programmes be improved through engagement with students using appreciative inquiry?

Abstract

This research involves eight students at the University of Pretoria who identify with the Bachelor of Science (BSc) and the Bachelor of Commerce (BCom) Extended Curriculum Programmes (ECPs). The study reports on the use of Appreciative Inquiry (AI) to determine how these students describe the best aspects of the programmes and the attributes that they developed in order to succeed. The aim was to extrapolate the findings to develop an improvement plan informed by students' perspectives. The narratives from semi-structured interviews conducted during the Discovery and Dream stages of the modified Appreciative Inquiry 4-D process are reported. Six views emerged: sense of family and belonging; peer mentoring and support networks; coping with failure and developing self-efficacy; the underdog phenomenon, self-motivation and support for mainstream students; the student advising model; and extended curriculum programmes as a first option. In the Design phase, these views will be incorporated to formulate an improvement plan for the programmes. Ogude, Mwambakana, Meyer and Mthethwa Improvement of extended curricular programmes 220 BACKGROUND Access Programmes are university programmes that are designed to accommodate students from disadvantaged academic backgrounds who are not adequately prepared for university (Rollnick 2010). Extended Curriculum Programmes (ECPs) are a type of the Access Programmes in which students are transitioned into tertiary education by incorporating modules that are in line with the mainstream academic programmes. Extended Curriculum Programmes are thus credit bearing, and students enter the mainstream after the extended phase of their degree. Other types of Access Programmes include the Foundation Programmes and the Augmented Programmes. Regarding the Foundation Programmes, students complete a year of non-credit bearing modules that are separate from the mainstream academic programmes. Augmented Programmes are a complete modification of the entire academic programme, which enables students to complete a modified degree programme over an extended period (Rollnick 2010). The Mamelodi Campus of the University of Pretoria has been offering ECPs since 2008. Currently, three BSc programmes, namely Mathematical Sciences, Physical Sciences and Biological and Agricultural Sciences are offered by the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences. A BCom Extended Programme is offered by the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. The admission requirements are lower for the programmes than for the mainstream programmes since the majority of the students admitted on the campus do not meet the mainstream admission requirements. At the University of Pretoria, the first phase of the extended programmes involves a time period of 18 months or three semesters, two of which are hosted at the Mamelodi Campus. These 18 months replace the first semester, and the students eventually complete the 3-year BSc and BCom degrees in four years.The aim of the extended programmes is to enhance students' basic knowledge a...

Developing Algebraic Knowledge: Foundation Programme ex-Mathematical Literacy Students’ Perceptions

“…isolation and exacerbate stigmatisation or perceptions of academic inferiority (Dietrich, 2017;Ogude et al, 2019). Some students mentioned experiencing discrimination or stigmatisation due to attending an access programme (Dietrich, 2017), although Millennials, as a nonhomogenous group, are thought to acknowledge and accept diversity (Shushok & Kidd, 2015).…”

“…Some students mentioned experiencing discrimination or stigmatisation due to attending an access programme (Dietrich, 2017), although Millennials, as a nonhomogenous group, are thought to acknowledge and accept diversity (Shushok & Kidd, 2015). Students may view the access year as a positive experience (Potgieter et al, 2015) and advocate for access programmes (Ogude et al, 2019). In addition to possible negative access programme perceptions, ML students have a history of deficit thinking, having been labelled as "stupid", unable to do mathematics, and less successful (Machaba & Du Plooy, 2019, p. 366).…”

“…Access programmes should provide a nurturing and supportive learning environment (Daniels & Jooste, 2018;Ogude et al, 2019) where students can develop self-efficacy and learn to cope with failure (Ogude et al, 2019) while building self-confidence (Daniels & Jooste, 2018). Many access programmes offer relatively small tutorial classes, which students view as a positive feature (Potgieter et al, 2015) supporting learning development (Daniels & Jooste, 2018).…”

“…Individualised learning to internalise and connect new knowledge with previously learned knowledge is also important (Vygotsky, 1978). Peer support and collaboration is crucial as a form of academic support in access programmes (Ogude et al, 2019) and should be incorporated into tutorial learning (Daniels & Jooste, 2018). Good performers have been found to engage in collaboration more easily and effectively than poor performers (Potgieter et al, 2015) and where peer support is encouraged, students feel assisted to succeed in their studies (Daniels & Jooste, 2018).…”

Mamelodi Pre-University Academy

“…Teaching in the ECPs is specialized to give students the necessary support to address underpreparedness. Studies conducted between 2014 and 2016 have determined the positive impact of the Mamelodi campus ECPs and have proven the success of ECP's while citing areas of improvement (Engelbrecht, Harding & Potgieter, 2014;Ogude, Meyer, Mwambakana & Mthethwa 2019). Following the positive results from these studies the campus turns its focus towards the development of a model that would address the school-university gap prior to students enrolling at university, that is, while they are at school.…”