Die verband tussen bepaalde veranderlikes en die akademiese prestasie van blanke standerdtien–leerlinge in Natal

Abstract

It appears from the results of the Natal Senior Certificate examination over the past number of years, that English speaking pupils perform better academically than Afrikaans speaking pupils. It seems as if the influence of different variables on the academic achievement of the pupils could be responsible. With this study research was done regarding the influence of particular variables on the academic achievement of matriculants in Natal. During the second half of 1990, 990 matric pupils from three types of secondary schools in Natal (Afrikaans, English and parallel medium) were subjected to a set of tests and questionnaires. A Biographical questionnaire; the LASSI - Learning and Study Strategies Inventory and a questionnaire on Selfregulated Learning (SRQ) were completed by all 990 matriculants. The LASSI (Annexure A) was developed to measure pupils use of study methods and learning strategies. The Selfregulated Learning Questionnaire was developed as a group test to gather information on pupils selfregulated learning strategies with these instruments 20 independent variables were identified. The influence of these independent variables on the academic achievement of the pupils was then tested in an empirical research. Mathematics, Physical Science, Biology and Accountancy were used as the dependent variables in the research. With this research it was established that * particular variables have a greater influence on the academic achievement of matriculants in Natal than other variables * the academic achievement of Afrikaans and English pupils are influenced by different variables * the academic achievement of boys and girls are influenced by different variables. It appears further from the results of the research that certain selfregulated learning strategies, such as information acquisition and processing and selfevaluation, influence academic achievement. A further finding from the research shows that components of metacognition such as planning, monitoring and evaluating as well as learning strategies such as time management, selecting main ideas and coping with fear, partly influence the academic achievement of matriculants in Natal. Unfortunately it could not be determined whether English speaking pupils are better users of these variables than the Afrikaans speaking pupils. Further research is therefore necessary to determine how selfregulated learning, metacognition and learning strategies influence differently the academic achievement of English speaking and Afrikaans speaking pupils.