Postgraduate students experience of poverty and academic success at a university of technology in South Africa

Selection of industrial and organisational psychology master’s students: Exploring the predictive validity of a person–job fit approach

“…Although these factors remain regarded as valid predictors, recent research points to a variety of factors relating to the prediction of academic success. These include the students' interests and motivation, self-confidence, emotional intelligence, challenging themselves cognitively, conscientiousness, ethnicity, gender, reflective writing, stable role-models, parental support, communication skills, technological competence, support received and the general communication skills of the students and teachers (Adamiak & Sauls, 2017;Akgündüz & Akınoğlu, 2017;Bartram, 2005;Biçer, 2017;Grass, Strobel, & Strobel, 2017;Kale & Etyemez, 2017;Kappe & Van der Flier, 2011;Khan, Khan, Zia-Ul-Islam, & Khan, 2017;Killen, 1994, Kotzé & Griessel, 2008Machika & Johnson, 2015;Önder & Şeyma, 2017;Parker, Saklofske, & Keefer, 2017 Schreiber & Yu, 2016;Schmidt & Hunter, 1998;Tsingos-Lucas, Bosnic-Anticevich, Schneider, & Smith, 2017).…”

Higher Education Pathways

“…Two qualitative studies provide students' own accounts of living in poverty (Firfirey & Carolissen, 2010;Machika & Johnson, 2015). Poor students benefiting from a university food programme discussed effects of poverty that ranged from food insecurity and lack of personal hygiene (e.g.…”

“…showering without soap), to academic effects such as difficulty in keeping up with academic work due to unaffordability of textbooks, and psychological effects including chronic anxiety and depression over finances, feelings of shame for being poor and wanting to hide or disguise one's poverty from friends and housemates. Poor students who could not afford to live in close proximity to their university reported a long daily commute, which, compounded by care responsibilities for younger siblings and children at home, left little time for university work, thus adding 'time-poverty' to their multiple challenges (Machika & Johnson, 2015; see also Wilson-Strydom, Strydom, & Hen-Boisen, 2016). Despite receiving accommodation, food, book and fee allowances, students on the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) cannot totally escape the effects of financial insecurity: NSFAS fee payments to the universities are often late, so that some students are not allowed to re-register for subsequent years of study despite passing their modules; and the NSFAS food allowance is also limited (Machika & Johnson, 2015).…”

“…Poor students who could not afford to live in close proximity to their university reported a long daily commute, which, compounded by care responsibilities for younger siblings and children at home, left little time for university work, thus adding 'time-poverty' to their multiple challenges (Machika & Johnson, 2015; see also Wilson-Strydom, Strydom, & Hen-Boisen, 2016). Despite receiving accommodation, food, book and fee allowances, students on the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) cannot totally escape the effects of financial insecurity: NSFAS fee payments to the universities are often late, so that some students are not allowed to re-register for subsequent years of study despite passing their modules; and the NSFAS food allowance is also limited (Machika & Johnson, 2015). Indeed, van Zyl (2014, p. 1663 argues that rather than thinking of 'disadvantaged' students as 'non-traditional', they should be seen as the new normal: 'desperation defines the neomainstream' in South African higher education.…”

How Home Contexts of South African University Students Shape their Experiences of Emergency Remote Teaching and Learning

“…For persons living below the poverty line, home contexts are characterized by limited access to water, sanitation and electricity, and extreme conditions of poverty and social ills, none of which are conducive to academic activity. Deprived home contexts in South Africa are characterized by overcrowding, discord amongst family and community members, and high levels of violence and crime, and university students' failure may be attributable to such home contexts (Machika & Johnson, 2015). Similarly, deprived home contexts might not include online internet access (Czerniewicz et al, 2009).…”