The relationship between independent learning and lecturing skills with reference to student achievement in economics

Background

The concept "independent learning" has evoked much discussion in South African tertiary education because it is an accepted fact that a student cannot be taught everything in a classroom. Also, South African tertiary educational institutions are facing increasing numbers, class sizes are big, and students will have to consult relevant material outside classroom hours.

The general perception is that what is taught in the classroom is actually learnt, although previous research has dispelled this notion. Where the correlation between teaching and learning in the classroom should equal one, it has been found to be 0.30.

This indirect relationship could be attributed to the fact that much of what students learn is gained through efforts like reading text-books, doing background reading studying journal articles, forming learning groups, completing assignments and engaging in incidental learning through observation outside the classroom. Hence, the question arises whether independent learning does not make a considerable contribution to learning performance, and if it does, to which extent.

Objectives

• To determine the extent to which achievement in Economics is influenced by an independent learning ability, lecturing skills and the nature of Economics.

• To determine possible correlations between independent learning, lecturing skills and the nature of the subject Economics.

• To determine to which extent there is a relationship between an independent learning ability, lecturing skills and the nature of Economics, respectively, and achievement in Economics.

• To determine whether significant differences occur between an independent learning ability, lecturing skills and Economics should year of study and language preference be used as dividers.

• To establish the extent to which students in different years of study experience an independent learning ability, lecturing skills and nature of Economics.

Method

Statistics such as factor, item analysis and analysis of variance were used to analyse the data. The questionnaire items, gleaned from an in-depth literature survey, were piloted on a group of students before it was administered to the larger group. The items covered three distinct areas, namely, an independent learning ability, lecturing skills and the nature of the subject Economics.

Findings

1. Of the three independent variables, IL, LS and EC, (independent learning, lecturing skills, achievement in Economics) independent learning correlated the highest with achievement in Economics (r = 0.230; p < 0.01).

   Although this correlation was low, it can be concluded that there is not a strong relationship between AE and IL. However, a correlation coefficient does not comprise any cause-effect characteristic.

2. A weighted value of 2.044 distinguished between good and weak independent learners. This value was based on a four-point likert scale.

   The data in the previous table shows clearly that the average performance of the good independent learner was significantly better (p < 0.01) than that of the weak independent learner and, hence, a relationship between achievement in Economics and an independent learning ability.

3. The average obtained by first-year students (51.3%) differed significantly (p < 0.01) with the average (62.4%) of second-year students. The third-year students obtained an average of 59.7% (p < 0.01). The mean performances of second- and third-year students do not differ significantly (p > 0.05).

   Some of the reasons for the first-year performance are:

   • Economics is not a compulsory prerequisite subject for Technikon training.
   • The subject terminology is difficult for most beginners and even more difficult for them to contextualise.

4. The study showed that, on average, the Afrikaans students performed better than the English students (p < 0.01). The reason for this is that while most students (N = 355) indicated English as their language, it was, in fact, their second or third language. These students' problems were compounded by the text books which are essentially English. The Afrikaans students had the benefit of receiving their tutorial matter in their own language.

Conclusion

This places an added responsibility on teachers to create academic development programmes to assist with inculcating the necessary skills. The study also showed that the majority of the students recognise the benefits of an independent learning ability. The nature of the subject Economics is also perceived in similar vein in terms of developing a more profound understanding and, subsequently, acquiring better economic literacy skills.

Teachers play a key role in inculcating in students an independent learning ability. Upon doing so, learners will be able to generate within the quality and intensity of effort in order to probe meaning, to elaborate upon ideas, to find pathways to solve problems, to identify problem areas, and to synthesise.

The role of the self, that is, the self-concept, self-organisation, self-discipline and self-assessment can never be underestimated.

More local material is required. Textbooks are inappropriate because they assume a certain level of proficiency.

Finally, the findings confirmed that an independent learning ability is a definite asset. However, the process should be facilitated with students as it could lead to qualitatively better student performance.

Sex	Technikon		Total	%
	Residential	Correspondence
Male	207	145	352	54.6
Female	208	85	293	45.4
Total	415	230	645	100

Because most Economics texts are imported it was interesting to see how those students, other than English, fared.

Language	Technikon		Total	%
	Residential	Correspondence
English	209	146	355	55.1
Afrikaans	206	84	290	44.9
Total	415	230	645	100

The following is a breakdown of students according to year of study.

Technikon	Year of study			Total
	1	2	3
Residential	276	53	86	415
Correspondence	130	60	40	230
Total %	406 62.95	113 17.52	126 19.53	645 100

Independent learning ability (IL)	Economics achievement (%) (x)
Good (<2.044)	57.956
Weak (>2.044)	51.592
(t = 5.453; df = 643; p < 0.01)

Author: Dr Hilton J Fransman, Teaching Development, Peninsula Technikon, PO Box 1906, Bellville 7535, South Africa. Fax: 021-959-6098 Please cite as: Fransman, H. J. (1996). The relationship between independent learning and lecturing skills with reference to student achievement in economics. Different Approaches: Theory and Practice in Higher Education. Proceedings HERDSA Conference 1996. Perth, Western Australia, 8-12 July. http://www.herdsa.org.au/confs/1996/fransman.html