Psychosocial profile of South African school netball players

Abstract: Since 1995, South Africa has experienced a decline in netball performance, with many players not progressing beyond participation at secondary school level. It is increasingly becoming apparent that psychosocial skills are as important as physical and technical skills in improving athletic performance and motivation in competitive situations. In this study, the psychosocial profiles of 410 netball players from 38 schools across South Africa were assessed and analysed. The netball players ranged from ages 11 years to 19 years with a mean age of 14.26 (SD = 2.14) years. The participants were asked to complete three questionnaires, namely: the Task- and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire (TEOSQ), the Sport Competition Anxiety Test (SCAT) and the Group Environment Questionnaire (GEQ). Significant differences in levels of competitive anxiety and social cohesion across different age groups were found, with younger athletes having lower levels of anxiety and higher levels of social cohesion. The results of this study have significant implications for the practice of sports psychology in South Africa and interventions for young netball players, as well as the understanding of the development of mental skills for youth in sporting contexts. The authors conclude that a focus on improving mental and psychosocial skills for netball players at secondary school level could lead to improved psychological skills and performance at higher levels of participation

Becoming African psychologists : decolonisation within a postgraduate psychology module at the University of Johannesburg

Abstract: There is a compelling need for curriculum design and processes of teaching in South African higher education institutions to heed calls for decolonisation and relevance. Within university Psychology teaching spaces, both the what and the how of knowledge production require transformation and epistemic emancipation. This study explored the perceptions of students regarding the decolonisation processes within a postgraduate Psychology module at the University of Johannesburg. Through the thematic analyses of blogs written by students, results indicated the students benefitted from decolonisation initiatives through three interdependent processes. These processes were (1) Learning Real World Skills from Peers, (2) Bringing it Home: Making Psychology Relevant, and (3) Becoming African Psychologists. Academics in higher education institutions have an ontoepistemological responsibility to encourage students to be critical of the hegemony of Western imperialist forms of knowledge. Therefore, decolonisation initiatives should include students becoming agentic actors who chart the course of their learning processes. Critical thinking skills may facilitate the formation of identities that increase students’ agency and creativity within traditionally rigid and hierarchical academic structures

A South African study comparing the effectiveness of computer-based learning materials and face-to-face teaching

This paper compares the effectiveness of in-house developed computer-based learning (CBL) materials with face-to-face teaching. Two groups of higher education students were randomly assigned to complete tutorial work in one highly structured topic of introductory accounting using either CBL materials (treatment group) or face-to-face teaching (control group). The effectiveness of both approaches was measured according to the students’ performance in a class test, in relation to their prior accounting knowledge and gender. The results showed that the students with no prior accounting knowledge who completed the CBL materials achieved a significantly higher test mark than the face-to-face teaching group. However, there was no significant difference in the marks of the students with prior accounting knowledge, and there was no difference on the basis of gender. The results of this South African study correspond to results in existing literature in other countries, and contribute to the overall knowledge of the effectiveness of CBL materials with respect to prior accounting knowledge and gender.Accounting education, Computer-based learning (CBL), Face-to-face teaching, Gender, Prior accounting experience, Student performance