Student and Staff Perceptions of ‘Being a Student’ in the Nature Conservation Foundation Programme

Abstract

‘Underpreparedness’ of students entering higher education is an issue that many academic institutions in South Africa are currently addressing. These students, who are referred to as ‘underprepared’, are more often than not black students. They are seen as disadvantaged, lacking the skills, knowledge and/or language proficiency to navigate their way to success in higher education. This study seeks to identify students’ understanding of the behaviours they should display in higher education and how this clashes with the expectations of academics. It examines how students try to engage with the institutional discourse and how they try to identify a ‘sense of being’. Qualitative research was used through the administration of essays that students were expected to write, as well as individual face-to-face interviews. The essays and interviews tried to gauge how students perceived themselves as Nature Conservation students. Lecturers were also interviewed so that a comparison could be made between what students perceive and the expectations of academics in higher education. Various themes were identified through the analysis of the student essays and interviews, by using an inductive approach. Through the development of these themes, the gap could be identified between students and lecturers.