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Exam Papers
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Recent Submissions

Citation mania in academic theses writing: A Case study
(Richtmann, 2020-07) Sibanda, Jabulani
This study, premised on the assumption that students over-use citations in academic writing, investigated manifestations of over-citation in three PhD theses. A review of diverse pragmatic functions citations serve, helped in the identification of needless citations which lacked consonance with any of the functions. A content-context analysis of the pragmatic function of each citation in the three theses, revealed over-citation and superfluity in the theses. Manifestations of over-citation included: expressing general or common-sense information; using multiple citations to make a simple point; citing sources to express what the writer did; attributing own deductions and inferences to authors; not following-up on citations; repeating concepts and attendant citations in different parts of the thesis; making most thesis sections literature sections; citing individual words not ideas, unclear content of citation, independent citation of each source for the same idea, over-using a source within a paragraph or section, citing back to back, evincing citation density to the eye. On the basis of the varied manifestations of over-citation and the extent of its compromise on the quality of student presentations, the study recommends sustained efforts in developing sound academic writing skills even at postgraduate levels, and sensitisation of students to pragmatic purposes citations should serve.
Impact of linguistic complexity in English language texts on South Africa's primary school grade 3 to 4 transition
(Western Australian Institutes for Educational Research, 2020-05-01) Sibanda, Lucy
Reading challenges occasioned by the third to fourth grade transition in South Africa's primary schools are well-documented, particularly in content area texts. Grade 4 reading heralds a shift from narrative text to content text reading, the latter credited with greater reading demands than the former. There is, however, dearth of research on how language texts, which are largely narrative, represent a linguistic complexity at the grade 3 and 4 interface. Using English First Additional Language grade 3 and 4 workbooks within the South African context, this research documents the extent of the linguistic complexity between the texts from grade 3 to grade 4. Both content analysis and readability formulas were employed to determine manifest factors impacting textual and linguistic complexity in two workbooks, and the workbooks' grade levels respectively. Content analysis evinced steep increase in textual complexity of all five factors analysed; and readability formulas revealed that grade 3 workbooks were higher than third grade level, and grade 4 workbooks' levels were slightly higher. This study recommends that workbook authoring be in accordance with research-based indicators of textual and linguistic complexity, with consideration of readability formulas in texts prior to adoption for use in schools.
First-year accounting student teachers’ perceptions of their classroom learning environment
(Society for Research and Knowledge Management, 2020-12) Mapuya, Medson
This study assessed the perceptions of first-year accounting student teachers about their classroom learning environment. The study was prompted by studies which argue that the academic performance of students is correlated with their perceptions of the learning environment and the context in which teaching and learning takes place. The population for the study was first-year Accounting students at a university of technology in South Africa. The study employed a mixed method approach, and data were collected from students using a Constructivist Learning Environment Survey (CLES) which covered 42 items. The findings from the quantitative part of the study revealed that the students view their learning environment positively. Evidence to this effect is demonstrated by the mean obtained in the categories of the learning environment which were all above three. The themes which emerged from the qualitative findings also corroborated the quantitative findings. However, the qualitative data further reveal that the students felt far away from issues directly related to their teaching and learning. Consequently, a more student-participative approach to the planning and designing of instruction is recommended to mitigate the identified challenges.
Emerging researchers in emerging Universities: Lived experiences (understanding challenges faced)
(Science and Education Publishing, 2019-01) Marongwe, Newlin; Mbodila, Munienge; Sibanda, Jabulani
This paper presents challenges faced by emerging researchers in rural universities, by exploring their lived experiences throughout the journey of becoming a researcher. The paper argues that research creates new knowledge, benefits the education institutions, and impacts national development and transformation. Higher Education institutions globally, and in South Africa in particular, are striving to increase their research output by presenting research as requisite for academic promotion. Research, as a component in academia, is so valued that the cliché 'publish or perish' aptly defines the academic's career prospects. In a bid to achieve research excellence and boost research output, South African universities, especially the emerging rural universities, went on a massive recruitment drive for Research Fellows, PhD holders and professors, to cultivate research culture and to enhance research output for their institutions. The challenge is that, as soon as a new academic is appointed, they are expected to contribute to the institution's publication profile. This paper employed Constructivist theory and the qualitative approach within a case study design. Purposive sampling techniques were used to identify three emerging rural institutions and fifteen emerging researchers. Collection of data was done through in-depth one-on-one interviews. Thematic frames were used to present and analyse data. The findings revealed that, among the myriad challenges were heavy workloads and lack of research technical skills. The paper recommends that emerging rural universities' management conduct workshops in capacity development, research paper writing among others, to empower the emerging researchers.
Ecojustice education and communitarianism: Exploring the possibility for African eco-communitarianism
(Taylor and Francis Group, 2019-06-11) Kruger, Frans; le Roux, Adré; Teise, Kevin
In this article, we explore the concept of African communitarianism and reflect on its potential value for ecojustice education as a localised response to the wider ecological crises that impacts on African communities. We argue for an African eco-communitarian perspective and propose that this perspective extends ecojustice education. Such extension occurs firstly through foregrounding and emphasising the establishment of harmonious and co-constitutive relationships that is characterised by intersubjectivity and secondly, by extending community to beyond humans (and ancestors) to be inclusive of the more-than human world. We contend that ecojustice education, framed within an African eco-communitarianism, constitutes a localised response to the ecological crises in the form of critical place-based education, that it enables co-constitutive dialogue and interaction between the human and non-human elements of an eco-community and is an ethico-political praxis characterised by an African environmental ethic.