ERIC Number: EJ967439
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2011
Pages: 14
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1011-3487
EISSN: N/A
Investigating the Significance of the 2008 Matric Curriculum on First-Year Economics Performance
Dlomo, Z.; Jansen, A.; Moses, M.; Yu, D.
South African Journal of Higher Education, v25 n4 p696-709 2011
The academic success of first-year Economics students has been the focus of many South African studies in Economic Education. Many used the last school examination (Matric) results as a proxy for students' academic ability. In 2008 a new Matric curriculum was introduced. Given various changes in the curriculum, the question arises as to whether Matric results are still significant in explaining academic performance, and whether the matriculants from the 2008 curriculum perform differently. Factors such as the students' time spent on studying outside lectures, their work status, and the impact of using an English textbook on the performance of non-English speakers are also investigated. A two-step Heckman model is applied to investigate the performance of Economics students at the University of the Western Cape, South Africa. The main results are that students who matriculated under the new curriculum, worked part-time, spent less time studying, and are not English-speaking perform worse. (Contains 5 notes and 2 tables.)
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Economics Education, College Freshmen, Academic Achievement, Influences, Student Characteristics, College Entrance Examinations, National Curriculum, Secondary School Curriculum, Non English Speaking, Student Employment, Part Time Employment, Study Habits
Unisa Press. Preller Street, P.O. Box 392, Muckleneuk, Pretoria 0003, South Africa. Tel: +27-24-298960; Fax: +27-24-293449; e-mail: sajhe@vodamail.co.za; Web site: http://www.sajhe.org.za
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: South Africa
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A