Academic writing experiences and literacy development of engineering students at a South African university of technology.
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Date
2023
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Abstract
This study drew on the Cultural Capital Theory and the Academic Literacy Model to explore
the academic writing and literacy development experiences of Engineering students at a
selected university of technology in South Africa. The study sought to explore the literacy
experiences of Engineering student participants over time to determine the efficacy of the
knowledge and skills they acquired in relation to academic writing and literacy development.
Three critical questions were posed:
● What are Engineering students’ experiences of academic writing and literacy
development at the selected university of technology under study in KwaZulu-Natal
Province?
● How do Engineering students experience academic writing and academic literacy support
offered by the Academic Literacy and Language Support unit at the university of
technology under study?
● Why do Engineering students experience academic writing and literacy development the
way they do at the selected university of technology under study?
Qualitative research methodologies were employed. This study was also underpinned by the
interpretive paradigm which is characterised by the concern for the individual and the desire to
understand the subjective world of human experience. Data were produced using in-depth
semi-structured interviews and reflective journal entries and were analysed using thematic
analysis. The findings revealed that, although the participating students were underprepared to
engage with academic writing at university level, there was improvement in their academic
writing skills over time. The study contributes to knowledge of our understanding of how to
improve the academic writing capabilities and literacy development of students, including
those who come from rural and low socio-economic backgrounds and whose academic
development is often retarded by limited cultural capital. The study further highlights the role
of IsiZulu (the predominant language in Kwa-Zulu-Natal province) in the academic writing
and literacy development of rural students whose first language is IsiZulu. The study also
highlights the value of the selected theoretical framing and the methodological approaches that
were employed as these contributed significantly to the outcomes as described in this thesis.
The unique contribution of this study to the pool of knowledge and scholarly endeavour is the integrated approach that it proposes for embedding literacies within discipline-specific content
at the institution of higher learning under study.
Description
Doctoral Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.