Contributory Factors Affecting Level of Academic Performance
FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TOWARDS POOR PERFORMANCE
OF GRADE 12 LEARNERS
AT
MANOSHI AND MOKWATEDI HIGH SCHOOLS
BY
MOKGAETSI SALOME RAMMALA
MINI-DISSERTATION
SUBMITTED IN FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS
FOR THE DEGREE
MASTERS IN DEVELOPMENT
IN THE
FACULTY OF MANAGEMENT AND LAW
AT
TURFLOOP GRADUATE SCHOOL OF LEADERSHIP
SUPERVISOR: MS. M. C. MODIPANE
DECEMBER 2009
DECLARATION
I declare that the dissertation hereby submitted to the Turfloop Graduate School of
Leadership for the degree of MASTERS IN DEVELOPMENT has not previously been submitted by me for a degree at this or any other university, that it is my work in design and execution, and that all material contained herein has been duly acknowledged.
___________________ _________________
M.S. Rammala (Ms) Date
Student Number: 9434028 i DEDICATION
This study is dedicated to my mother, the late Dinah Maboya. May her soul rest in peace. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I wish to express my thanks to the following people who helped to make the completion of this research possible:
• Ms Modipane M. C., My supervisor, is thanked for the assistance and support that she gave me during the research process and writing of this mini-dissertation. I thank her especially for her expertise that she generously shared with me and ensuring that we submit in time.
• Dr. Leketi Makalela for editing and proofreading my document within a few days despite his tight schedules and Dr R. V. McCabe who edited the final version.
• Dr. J. Matshabaphala made himself available even during his leave and assisted me to locate some of the information that was used in this mini-dissertation.
• Mr. Donald Mongoai assisted with technical layout of the dissertation.
• Yvonne Rammala who gave her time to help in typing this document.
• My special gratitude goes to my husband and children for their continued support and encouragement when I was disillusioned and wanted to quit my M. A. research project.
• Malose Lekganyane for
OF GRADE 12 LEARNERS
AT
MANOSHI AND MOKWATEDI HIGH SCHOOLS
BY
MOKGAETSI SALOME RAMMALA
MINI-DISSERTATION
SUBMITTED IN FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS
FOR THE DEGREE
MASTERS IN DEVELOPMENT
IN THE
FACULTY OF MANAGEMENT AND LAW
AT
TURFLOOP GRADUATE SCHOOL OF LEADERSHIP
SUPERVISOR: MS. M. C. MODIPANE
DECEMBER 2009
DECLARATION
I declare that the dissertation hereby submitted to the Turfloop Graduate School of
Leadership for the degree of MASTERS IN DEVELOPMENT has not previously been submitted by me for a degree at this or any other university, that it is my work in design and execution, and that all material contained herein has been duly acknowledged.
___________________ _________________
M.S. Rammala (Ms) Date
Student Number: 9434028 i DEDICATION
This study is dedicated to my mother, the late Dinah Maboya. May her soul rest in peace. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I wish to express my thanks to the following people who helped to make the completion of this research possible:
• Ms Modipane M. C., My supervisor, is thanked for the assistance and support that she gave me during the research process and writing of this mini-dissertation. I thank her especially for her expertise that she generously shared with me and ensuring that we submit in time.
• Dr. Leketi Makalela for editing and proofreading my document within a few days despite his tight schedules and Dr R. V. McCabe who edited the final version.
• Dr. J. Matshabaphala made himself available even during his leave and assisted me to locate some of the information that was used in this mini-dissertation.
• Mr. Donald Mongoai assisted with technical layout of the dissertation.
• Yvonne Rammala who gave her time to help in typing this document.
• My special gratitude goes to my husband and children for their continued support and encouragement when I was disillusioned and wanted to quit my M. A. research project.
• Malose Lekganyane for
References: There are several studies internationally and locally (e.g. Saiduddin, 2003: 22; Themane, 1989: 151) regarding poor performance at high school; the results revealed that in many cases the level of academic performance in urban and rural areas is not the same. Adell (2002:91) argues that poor performance at high schools is an international problem that has been linked to the low socio-economic background of the learners. It has also been found that urban students tend to perform better than those in the rural areas (Munn, 1996, cited by Louw, 1993:26). problems (Engelbrecht, Kruger and Booysen, 1996:263-266). 1 According to Kirov (2002:53), poverty has spatial, racial, and gender dimensions population lives in rural areas characterised by, among others, malnutrition (Statistics Africa, 2001). which will be abbreviated to as NNSSF Act, 1998 henceforth. The two schools that were researched fall within quintile 1 and 2 respectively, since they are among the poorest of the poor (NNSSF Act, 1998) Municipality, Limpopo Province. These schools fall within Molepo/Maja/Chuene cluster, which has an unemployment rate of 63.2% (Polokwane Municipal IDP 2005-2007). background, creating a negative social environment at home. According to Solo (1997), the atmosphere at home helps to foster or break school success cite serious malnutrition problems that impact on poor academic performance of learners (Polite, 1994) supportive (Ralenala, 1993).