African Students Research Articles

Influence of career orientations and career guidance need on students’ employability attributes

This study explored the interplay between students’ career orientations and career guidance need in relation to their employability attributes of graduateness and personal employability qualities. Applying a cross-sectional design, 369 black South African students at a university of technology were sampled for the study. The students completed an adapted version of the Career Orientations Inventory and the Employer Employability Competency Expectations scale. Results following tests for significant mean differences and moderated regression analysis revealed that clarity on career orientation preferences is associated with a high need for career guidance. Career orientations predicted employability attributes more than the need for career guidance. Students with a high career orientation preference had significantly more positive perceptions of their graduateness and personal employability qualities than those with a low career orientation preference. Students with a low career orientation preference and weak desire for career guidance had a significantly weaker awareness of their employability attributes. Premised on the dispositional model of employability, the findings suggest the need for career guidance in employability learning and development to help students gain insight into their career orientation preferences and personal employability qualities.

South African Tourism students’ learning preferences during COVID-19 at universities of technology

Between 2020 and 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic forced governments, around the globe, to implement innovative initiatives to avoid a complete collapse of significant sectors. Emergency remote teaching (ERT) operational frameworks were developed through the Council for Higher Education (CHE) to guide higher education (HE) institutions’ operational procedures. Considering that students at Universities of Technology (UoTs) are used to face-to-face teaching, ERT may have been aversely experienced. Thus, for this study, the review of Tourism Management students’ learning preferences during ERT across three South African UoTs were ascertained. Through means of a sequential-explanatory research design, students were asked to complete a survey and, afterwards, those students who showed interest were interviewed in focus groups. Tourism Management UoT students did not see ERT in a positive light as access to HE was a major challenge for them during lockdown periods, indicating a lack of sufficient resources to properly participate in learning activities, and crucially, a lack of access to support mechanisms during ERT.Contribution: This study offers student perspectives of remote learning experiences. This data could assist in offering a balance between ERT initiatives and learner-guided frameworks for HE. This knowledge could be critical in limiting the gap in access and success for hybrid or blended tourism programmes post-COVID-19.

Kahramanmaraş Depremleri Sonrası Afrika Ülkelerinden Türkiye’ye Yapılan Yardımlar

Although Türkiye's relations with African countries have continued since the Ottoman Empire, the measures taken over the past 20 years have taken an important place in Türkiye's foreign policy. These relations, which cover different areas, were mainly towards on the African countries from Türkiye. After the great destruction and loss of life suffered by the earthquakes of 6 February in Kahramanmaraş, assistance and messages of support from African countries to Türkiye highlighted. In this study, the appeal for international assistance after the earthquake in Türkiye and individual aid from African countries as well as official and civil institutions were examined. In the post-earthquake period, what kind of assistance was given to Türkiye from which the African country and the messages of support announced along with messages of condolence were discussed. On the other hand, the assistance of African students studying in Türkiye to the victims of the earthquake after the earthquake was discussed. As a result of this research, the reactions and actions taken by African countries during Türkiye's difficult days have been revealed and evaluated.

In the Wake of COVID-19: The Developmental and Mental Health Fallout Amongst South African University Students.

Multiple studies have noted the impacts on student mental health of the COVID-19 pandemic, associated national lockdowns and emergency remote teaching. In light of COVID-19 shifting from pandemic to endemic status, this study investigates the developmental and mental health consequences of the pandemic for a group of South African undergraduate students. A qualitative design allowed for the thematic analysis of the narratives of 140 humanities students, gathered through an online survey. This paper presents the 'voices' of this group to convey the intensity of their COVID-19 experience. The results suggest a loss of a sense of freedom and opportunities to explore and experiment, high levels of depression with a notable sense of hopelessness regarding the future and decreased motivation, and significant reports of social anxiety related to delays in the development of social skills due to social isolation, particular to the first-year cohort.

South African rural students’ adoption and use of learning management systems

This discursive study examined the use of the learning management system (LMS) Moodle in rural South African universities. Moodle, a popular online programme, can be used to deliver learning activities, as well as online learning evaluations. The authors discuss LMS usage and adoption in higher education. LMS is a global online platform used in higher education institutions in developed countries across the globe, for decades. It has improved the education system in these developed countries by providing diverse students with learning opportunities, in their comfort zones. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, most developed nations adopted online methods, like LMS, for teaching and learning. Unfortunately, the pandemic lockdown in many developing nations, like South Africa, severely disrupted curriculum and educational activities for months. The South African Department of Higher Education and Training reviewed curriculum delivery approaches, to save academic activities due to COVID-19. Thus, it deemed online learning a higher education alternative to face-to-face curriculum instruction, during the lockdown to salvage the academic calendar, with LMS used as ideal online learning for student engagement.

Knowledge, awareness, and perception of senior high school learners towards nuclear energy: A South African case study

This study investigated senior South African high school students’ levels of knowledge, perception, attitude, and awareness toward nuclear energy using paper-based, semi-structured questionnaires and digital data collection instruments through online Google forms. The sample consisted of 100 high school students from two schools. Fifty students were chosen from a public school, and fifty students were selected from a private/independent school. It was found that regardless of the type of school, students showed little to no knowledge, low awareness, and significant ignorance of nuclear energy. The majority of students had never heard of nuclear energy. In terms of initial exposure to the concept of nuclear energy, private school learners seemed to have been exposed to the industry more through television. In contrast, for public school learners, educators were their main sources of introduction. Conversely, the perception of this form of energy is much more positive in private schools than in public schools. This study highlights the existence of a severe gap in high school education regarding the teaching and learning of nuclear energy. Hence, an energy-cognizant curriculum is needed to bridge the gap in both public and private schools.

EpiCass and CassavaNet4Dev Advanced Bioinformatics Workshop

EpiCass and CassavaNet4Dev are collaborative projects funded by the Swedish Research Council between the Swedish University of Agriculture (SLU) and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA). The projects aim to investigate the influence of epigenetic changes on agricultural traits such as yield and virus resistance while also providing African students and researchers with advanced bioinformatics training and opportunities to participate in big data analysis events. The first advanced bioinformatics training workshop took place from May 16th to May 18th, 2022, followed by an online mini-symposium titled "Epigenetics and crop improvement" on May 19th. The symposium featured international speakers covering a wide range of topics related to plant epigenetics, cassava viral diseases, and cassava breeding strategies. A new online and on-site teaching concept was developed for the three-day workshop to ensure maximum student participation across Western, Eastern, and Southern Africa. Initially planned in Nigeria, Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Zambia, the workshop ultimately focused on Nigeria, Kenya, and Ethiopia due to a lack of qualified candidates in the other countries. Each classroom hosted 20 to 25 students, with at least one bioinformatician present for support. The classrooms were connected via video conferencing, whereas teachers located in different places in Africa and Europe joined the video stream to conduct teaching sessions. The workshop was divided into theoretical classes and hands-on sessions, where participants could run data analysis with support from online teachers and local bioinformaticians. To enable participants to run guided, CPU and RAM-intensive data analysis workflows and overcome local computing and internet access restrictions, a system of virtual machines (VMs) hosted in the cloud was developed. The teaching platform provided teaching and exercise materials to support the use of the VMs. Although some students could not run heavy data analysis workflows due to unforeseen restrictions in the cloud, these issues were solved. All participants had the opportunity to run the analysis steps independently in the cloud using the protocols hosted on the teaching platform.

Experiences of health professional students’ participation in the GEMx regional elective exchange program in Africa

BackgroundGiven the significant gap in International Electives (IEs) opportunities for African health professions students, ECFMG|FAIMER through its Global Educational Exchange in Medicine and other health professions (GEMx) program launched a pilot African regional elective exchange program in 2016. During IEs, students have a choice of discipline they would like to learn, and the location, often at a host institution in a different country. This study provides an overview of health professional students’ experiences through participation in the pilot GEMx regional elective exchange program in Africa.MethodsThis was a quasi-experimental, single-group post-test-only study using the survey method. Data were collected online using a self-administered survey through SurveyMonkey. Students (N = 107) received emails with a link to the survey as they completed the electives. The survey was open for a month for each student and weekly reminders were sent.ResultsThe survey obtained a 100% response rate. All postgraduate and undergraduate students from various professional training programs (n = 107) reported gaining knowledge that was applicable back home. Over 43.4% (n = 46) reported having formed professional networks that are valuable for career progression. More than half 59.8% (n = 64) gained clinical skills and learned various procedures while 26.2% (n = 28) recognized the need for increased reliance on history taking for disease diagnosis. More than a third, 34.6% (n = 37) appreciated the different cultures and the effect of cultural beliefs on health outcomes.Discussion and conclusionsThe GEMx regional elective exchange program in Africa provided a useful platform that enabled health professional students at undergraduate and postgraduate levels in their respective disciplines to gain enhanced perspectives on health issues, acquire clinical knowledge and skills applicable to their home country, strengthen personal and professional development, and develop positive attitude change in various health care delivery approaches.

The effects of gamified flipped classroom on student learning: evidence from a meta-analysis

ABSTRACT Gamified flipped classroom (GFC) is becoming more and more popular. Is it more effective than traditional flipped learning? This meta-analysis explores the effects of GFC on students’ learning based on 17 high-quality experimental articles. The results suggest that GFC has an upper-medium positive effect on students’ learning (SMD = 0.769, p < 0.000), indicating that GFC is more effective than the flipped classroom. Furthermore, moderator analyses find that GFC is more effective (1) on academic achievement, motivation, engagement, and satisfaction; (2) among secondary and university students; (3) for 51–100 students; (4) for interventions between 1 and 3 months; (5) on No-STEM subjects, smaller on STEM subjects; (6) with storytelling, points, badges, leaderboards, levels, and timed tasks; (7) with less number of gamified elements; (8) when using experimental design; (9) on Asian and African students; (10) in journal articles and dissertations; (11) in former publication year.

QR code technology in individual identification training provides an introduction in hands-on forensic DNA genotyping to medical students

BackgroundForensic biology is a subject in the field of forensic science that stresses practical teaching and training in laboratory skills. Visualization of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) profiles is important in individual identification and is easily performed by well-trained examiners. Therefore, developing a novel training project for obtaining individual DNA profiles can improve the quality of teaching for medical students or trainees. DNA profiles based on quick response (QR) codes can also be applied to practical teaching and operation training for individual identification.MethodsA novel training project was developed through an experimental course in forensic biology. Blood samples and buccal swabs with oral epithelial cells, as used in the forensic DNA laboratory, were obtained from medical students at Fujian Medical University. DNA was isolated, and a number of short tandem repeat (STR) loci were used as genetic markers to generate DNA profiles. The students converted DNA profiles and individual information into a QR code. The QR code could then be scanned by a mobile phone for consulting and retrieval. Gene identity cards with QR codes were produced and provided to every student. The participation rate and passing rate of students who participated in the novel training project were calculated and compared with those of students in the traditional experimental course, and a chi-square test was carried out by SPSS 23.0 software to evaluate the teaching effectiveness. p < 0.05 indicated significant differences. In addition, a survey was conducted to investigate the likelihood of using of gene identity cards with QR codes in the future.ResultsA total of 54 of 91 medical students who studied forensic biology participated in the novel training project in 2021. Only 31 of 78 students who studied forensic biology participated in the traditional experimental course in 2020. The participation rate in the novel training project was 24% higher than that of the traditional experimental course. The participants in the novel training project showed better performance in forensic biological handling techniques. The passing rate of the students in the forensic biology course with the novel training project was approximately 17% higher than that of the students in the former course. The participation rates and passing rates of the two groups were significantly different (χ = 6.452, p = 0.008 and χ = 11.043, p = 0.001). In the novel training project, all participants made 54 gene identity cards with QR codes. Furthermore, in the DNA profiles of four African students who participated, we found two rare alleles that were not discovered in Asians. The survey showed that the use of gene identity cards with QR codes was accepted by most participants, and the likelihood of future utilization was 78%.ConclusionWe established a novel training project to promote the learning activities of medical students in experimental forensic biology courses. The participants showed great interest in using gene identity cards with QR codes to store general individual identity information and DNA profiles. They also examined the genetic population differences between different races based on DNA profiles. Hence, the novel training project could be useful for training workshops, forensic experimental courses, and medical big data research.

Assessing the impact of neurosurgery and neuroanatomy simulation using 3D non-cadaveric models amongst selected African medical students.

Laboratory dissections are essential to acquire practical skills to perform neurosurgical procedures. Despite being traditionally done on cadavers, they are often unavailable and suffer from cultural barriers in the African context. Non-cadaveric UpSurgeOn neurosurgery models have been developed to bridge this barrier, providing an almost similar experience with the human body. This study aimed to assess the impact of the UpSurgeOn hands-on-touch non-cadaver model training amongst selected Cameroon medical students. An anonymous 35-item questionnaire was distributed online using Google drive systems to medical students who attended UpSurgeOn's hands-on-touch non-cadaver model training course. These questions aimed to capture data on previous experience with neuroanatomy and neurosurgery practicals and the perception, attitudes, and impact of the UpSurgeOn neurosurgery tool. Eighty-six students completed the survey. The mean age was 21.2 ± 1.868 years, 61.6% were males with 62.8% of respondents being medical students in preclinical years. Before the training, 29.4% had a fair knowledge of neuroanatomy. Textbooks and Youtube videos were the main sources of neuroanatomy and neurosurgery knowledge for more than half of the respondents. Up to 91.5% had no prior exposure to a neuroanatomy/neurosurgery cadaver laboratory dissection, and 22.6% and 17.6% had witnessed and performed at least one craniotomy before, respectively. There were 11.1%, 15.5%, and 31.3% of our respondents who had used a surgical microscope, a neurosurgical instrument, and the UpSurgeOn Neurosurgery tool before, respectively. The majority perceived the UpSurgeOn tool easy to use and felt they needed to learn just a few things before getting going with the box. Most thought of increasing the use of the UpSurgeOn Box and saw the need to be part of the training curriculum. Finally, the majority felt this tool helped to increase familiarity and acquire neurosurgical skills, and to develop the orientation skills needed during neurosurgical approaches. Undergraduate exposure to traditional neurosurgery/neuroanatomy labs is limited in Cameroon. Neurosurgery/neuroanatomy practical skills are gained essentially using non-practical means. Most students found the UpSurgeOn tool user-friendly, saw the need to incorporate it as part of their training, and perceived it to be essential in getting acquainted with neurosurgical skills.

Global challenges: South African and Australian students’ experiences of emergency remote teaching

The COVID-19 pandemic forced universities worldwide to move their teaching online within an unprecedentedly short timeframe. Whilst the move online learning has increased the reach of tertiary educational delivery it has also raised significant issues of equity, accessibility and student engagement. This includes concerns around access to technology and reliable internet connectivity, academic and digital literacy, and other factors such as mental health and work-life balance. This paper examines two studies of student engagement with online learning during 2020 when then pandemic began. One study was conducted in South Africa the other in a small regional university in South-Eastern Australia. A mixed method approach was used in both studies and then student responses were analysed using the student engagement framework presented by Kahu and Nelson (2018). A key focus in this analysis is the critical importance the educational interface and shared mutually formative experience of learning between students and universities. Findings show that despite the two different contexts, student concerns around digital literacy and engagement in an online learning environment share many similarities.

An analysis of lecturers’ beliefs and behaviour towards multilingual curriculum teaching material: a case study of isiZulu and English

ABSTRACT This article reflects on a longitudinal study that sought to assess if the expressed lecturers’ beliefs matched their behaviour towards a teaching material developed on the principles of bi/-multilingual education. A mixed method approach consisting of a review of the earlier reported language attitudes of English lecturers and a comparative document analysis of the developed dual language instruction (DLI) (isiZulu-English) teaching material of 2011, 2014 and 2018 was employed. The study found that the earlier expressed attitudes were positive towards the new teaching approach. However, throughout the years, the 2011 DLI material had been gradually reversed to almost its original monolingual form, in which English was the dominant language. The findings contradict what a group of the remaining lecturers from the 2011 cohort responsible for revision and use of the teaching material earlier expressed as their beliefs towards multilingual education. This shows that English lecturers from the selected institution are not consistent in their support of the Language Policy in Higher Education (2002 & 2020), the Institutional Language Policy and interventions designed to disrupt the status quo in language usage to improve access and excellence in the education of African students.

Rising China and rising Chinese: An investigation into African international students’ language beliefs

Chinese has been the fastest growing modern foreign language in African societies in the last decade, due largely to the perceived rise of China as a global superpower and its recent explosion in investment in Africa. This paper focuses on how African youths’ language beliefs and motivation to learn Chinese as a global language have been affected by an ever-increasing complicated nexus of political and economic engagement between Africa and China. Based on conversations with 59 African international students in Chinese higher education, I unpack and highlight the prevalence of beliefs that Chinese is a critical and global language. The instrumental value of Chinese, both to the continent, to nation-states and to individuals, is also found to be a common refrain among research participants, which motivates them to pursue Chinese as linguistic capital. This study contributes to the wider discussions of language ideology, motivations and aspirations of language learning, while encouraging us to reflect on the changing hierarchical ordering of languages in the world linguistic system. Pedagogical and curriculum design implications are discussed at the end of the article.

Exploring the educational needs and challenges faced by undocumented sub-Saharan students in Moroccan public schools

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate the educational experiences of sub-Saharan African undocumented students in Moroccan public schools, as well as the perceptions of instructors regarding the challenges and needs of sub-Saharan students in the capital city of Morocco, Rabat.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative interpretative case study approach was implemented to investigate this topic. This study involved seven respondents who had experience working with sub-Saharan students in their classrooms.FindingsThe findings of this study indicate that Moroccan public schools provide sub-Saharan African students with free education and a welcoming and secure learning environment. However, inadequate educational conditions, such as deficiencies in the designed programs, possibly limited competence of teachers, lack of professional instructors capable of teaching migrants and insufficient resources, can all hinder the learning process and educational integration of sub-Saharan African students.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the limited body of research on intercultural education in the Northern African region. The educational challenges and needs of hundreds or thousands of sub-Saharan African immigrants settling in Morocco are often overlooked or not given adequate consideration in scholarly works.

Racism as a social determinant of health: Link to school-related psychosocial stressors in a population-based sample of African adolescents in Canada.

Racism is a social determinant of health that links to the health and well-being of racial/ethnic marginalized populations. However, perceived racism among African Canadian adolescents has not been adequately addressed, especially the link between racism and psychosocial stressors in school settings. The aim of the current study was to assess racism and the link to school-related psychosocial stressors in a population-based sample of African Canadian adolescents. Secondary analysis of the population-based 2018 British Columbia Adolescent Health Survey dataset. Logistic regression and generalized linear models tested the link between racism and psychosocial stressors among African Canadian adolescents (n = 942), adjusting for sociodemographic factors. More than 38% of the adolescents reported racism in the year preceding the survey. Regardless of gender and birthplace, and controlling for covariates, those who experienced racism were significantly more likely to report peer victimization, which includes teasing, social exclusion, cyberbullying and sexual harassment, and they felt less safe and connected to their schools compared to those who did not experience racism. With gender and birthplace differences, those who reported racism had higher odds of having been physically assaulted, stayed away from school, reported negative emotional responses and used avoidant behaviours to evade racism. African Canadian adolescents are a visible racialized ethnic group in British Columbia, who are at heightened risk of racism and the associated psychosocial stressors. These findings demonstrate the influences of racism on psychosocial stressors and related emotional responses among African Canadian adolescents. Nurses and other healthcare providers should be cognizant of racism and the psychological impacts when providing care to "at-risk" populations. Promoting positive and inclusive school climates and addressing racism at all levels of the society will foster better social integration, as well as improve the health and academic achievement of African Canadian adolescents. We presented the research and preliminary results of the data analysis to the African community (parents and adolescents who self-identify as African). The African community who attended the gathering corroborated the link between racism and health and reiterated that addressing these psychosocial stressors can promote adolescent health and well-being. The attendees accepted all the variables that we included in the analysis. However, they emphasized the need for more African representation among school staff and teachers to foster trust, feelings of safety and connectedness, and to promote African students' academic achievement and well-being. They stressed the need to train and build the capacities of the school staff and teachers so that they can assist students regardless of race. They emphasized the need to promote cultural awareness and cultural sensitivity among all healthcare providers. We included the recommendations in the appropriate sections of the manuscript.

Relational and decision-making skills development in South African accounting students

Employers of accounting graduates have criticised graduates’ ability to work well with others and think critically. This study investigates aspirant Chartered Accountants in South Africa (‘aspirant CA(SA)s’) perceptions of the extent to which universities should and are developing relational and decision-making (RDM) skills in accounting students. Questionnaire data from 44 aspirant CA(SA)s, employed at three offices of a large audit firm in South Africa, were obtained. The majority of participants perceive that virtually all RDM skills are developed to an intermediate or advanced level during the academic programme. However, participants also perceive that the academic programme should develop all RDM skills to a greater extent; in particular, skills relating to managing others, teamwork, relationship-building, professional scepticism, emotional intelligence and leadership, to maximise performance during the training programme. Academics may benefit from this study’s findings of perceived RDM skills deficits, and suggestions for their development, which includes collaborating with training offices.

Psychosocial Implications, Students Integration/Attrition, and Online Teaching and Learning in South Africa’s Higher Education Institutions in the Context of COVID-19

This article explores the psychosocial impact of online teaching and learning on students, following the decision by South African universities to move teaching and learning from physical contact platforms to cyberspace interactions. South Africa’s intervention, like many other countries, adopted the necessary measures that would prevent the spread of the virus among its population, particularly educational institutions. One such measure was the decision to shut down institutions in South Africa and the contingent measure to operationalise teaching and learning using cyberspace. The unprecedented move to online teaching engendered levels of anxiety and fear, and presented a highly disruptive and traumatic experience for many students, especially those from impoverished and rural backgrounds. While focusing on student psychosocial vulnerabilities during this pandemic, the article also presents background factors such as social and economic factors that constrain student success in South Africa’s higher education institutions (HEIs), and which became exacerbated during the pandemic. It further explores the behavioural significance of online teaching and learning’s impact on the physical and psychological energy that students devote to their academic work. The study is underpinned by psychosocial and student-integration theories, and it weaves the argument articulated by leaning heavily on the secondary data. Lastly, by way of recommendation, the study highlights the unique challenges that the COVID-19 disaster posed for South African students in HEIs and emphasises the need to give symbolic attention to these unique challenges. The study, therefore, is proposing improvement in preparedness and the mitigation of societal disruption in South African society and higher education during future pandemics.

The land of the fee: the effect of Baden-Württemberg's tuition fees on international student outcomes

ABSTRACT Despite the increasing number of students learning abroad, little is known about the way international students migrate and how policies influence their decision. This article evaluates one German state's recent policy to charge international students for tuition, while tertiary education remains free elsewhere. For my difference-in-differences analysis, I collect and combine publicly available records for German higher education institutions since 1998. I find that the international enrollment rate decreases by 2 percentage points at treated institutions, driven by African and Asian students. In contrast to state government motivations, I find no evidence for a short-term decrease in exam failure rates.

Intention to dropout and study satisfaction: testing item bias and structural invariance of measures for South African first-year university students

PurposeThis study examined the psychometric properties of intention to drop out and study satisfaction measures for first-year South African students. The factorial validity, item bias, measurement invariance and reliability were tested.Design/methodology/approachA cross-sectional design was used. For the study on intention to drop out, 1,820 first-year students participated, whilst 780 first-year students participated in the study on satisfaction with studies. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), differential item functioning (DIF), measurement invariance and internal consistency were used to test the scales.FindingsA one-factor structure was confirmed for both scales. For the intention to drop out scale, Items 3 and 4 were identified with statistically significant item bias; however, these differences had no practical impact. Except for scalar invariance for language, sufficient measurement invariance was established. No problematic items were identified for the study satisfaction scale.Practical implicationsIn essence, this study provides evidence of two short measures that are culturally sensitive that could be used as short and valid measures across contextual boundaries as practically valuable tools to measure intention to drop out and study satisfaction in diverse and multicultural contexts.Originality/valueThis study contributes to limited research on bias and invariance analyses for scales that can be used in interventions to identify students at risk of leaving the university and utilising psychometric analyses to ensure the applicability of these two scales in diverse and multicultural settings.