Abstract
M.Phil.
Despite the social and political changes that have taken place in South Africa, the majority of students in higher education still face disadvantages like poor socioeconomic
conditions, a legacy of inferior schooling and studying in a language other than their first language. Recent literature on the experiences of first year students in higher education, identifies a number of possible problems that impact negatively on students' performance. Examples of such problems include: not being prepared for learning demands at university and not knowing how to study. The high failure rate, especially amongst first year students, could be attributed to these problems. This research explores the experiences of first year occupational therapy students in higher education in order to arrive at an informed understanding of such experiences. Awareness of students' experiences could enable educators to choose relevant course materials and select appropriate teaching methods as well as introduce measures to redress the impact of the legacy of inferior schooling in order to enhance learning. The research strategy in this study is grounded within the interpretative paradigm as the aim is to understand how participants make sense of their realities, i.e. how students make sense of their experiences from their own perspectives. For the purposes of this study, a sample of Medunsa occupational therapy first year students who wrote their grade twelve examinations at the end of 1999 was interviewed. Purposive sampling was used to select participants who come from different provinces to serve as 'information rich cases'. Semi-structured interviews aimed at encouraging the respondent to engage in conversation intended to elicit respondents' construction were conducted. The data were analysed using the constant comparative method of data analysis. The main finding of the research is that first year occupational therapy students experience problems related to adjustment in terms of the transition from high school to university which impact negatively on their academic performance. Examples include: not seeing the relevance of subjects and managing heavy workloads; problems with adjustment to life at university; study and teaching methods which are unfamiliar, as well as being unable to pay required fees. Measures such as a continuous orientation programme which includes orientation to study and teaching methods as well as course content are recommended to address problems experienced by students.