CHAPTER THREE: ADJUSTMENT DIFFICULTIES OF FIRST YEAR BLACK STUDENTS
3.5. CRITIQUE
anxious about articulating their concerns. The combination of unrealistic appraisals and poor staff-student interaction at predominantly white universities therefore creates a no-win situation, where students are either unaware that they have a problem, or too anxious to do anything about it.
higWights those difficulties, such as motivation and reading speed, which require immediate intervention ifthey are not to affect students' long-term performance.
A third weakness is the absence of studies exploring the characteristics of successful black students. Such studies could identify factors which mediate against some of the adjustment difficulties described in this chapter.
Perhaps the most important weakness of work in this area is its narrow focus. Most studies
explore a single area of difficulty, with few studies on the relative contribution of different factors to academic performance or presenting a holistic picture of the range of difficulties experienced.
Notable exceptions are the work of Van Overwalle (1989) and Hughes (1987) mentioned above.
In addition to the above weaknesses are two areas of debate in the literature. The first concerns two inter-linked issues, namely whether the difficulties described above are unique to black students, as well as whether differences exist in the adjustment difficulties of blacks on predominantly white or predominantly black campuses.
No direct comparisons have been made between students at South African historically black and historically white universities, although cross-study comparison suggests that black students experience adjustment difficulties at both types of institution. Coleman's (1993) finding oflow self-esteem among 60% of students sampled at the historically black, Fort Hare University, for example, parallels Lea's (1987) finding that 41 % of black students sampled at the historically white University of Cape Town, experience low self esteem and lack of confidence.
Most local studies, however, suffer from a narrowness of focus to the experiences of students at one institution, or even within one faculty or department, with few comparisons across
institutions. Local studies similar to that of Hughes' (1987) are therefore needed. Her
phenomenological comparison of the experiences of black students at predominantly white and black universities in the United States of America, found them to be far happier on black
campuses, where they experienced positive intellectual and interpersonal growth, while on white
campuses they perceived their environment as hostile, discriminatory and isolating. Students dealt with this by actively delaying emotional and socio-cultural development until they had completed their studies, or by turning to an African-American community outside ofthe university to meet their affiliation needs.
The lack of comparative data has led critics to question whether the adjustment difficulties described above are unique to black students, warranting different interventions, or whether they are experienced by all new students. Gibbs (1973) identified the following problems among black students on predominantly white campuses: identity crises, interpersonal difficulties, poor
academic performance, difficulties establishing autonomy from family and community, control of sexual and aggressive urges, and career confusion (Gibbs, 1973). Many of these concerns are not unique to black students. Potkay and Fullerton (1973, in Westbrooket al., 1978), identified fifteen common concerns among white students, which overlap considerably with those proposed by Gibbs. Cheatham (1975 in Westbrooket al., 1978) also found a 79% overlap in the counselling services and referral issues on predominantly black and white campuses, suggesting that many of these difficulties are experienced by both black and white students.
One of the few studies to directly compare the experiences of black students with those of white students found that although their experiences overlapped, black students reported more academic difficulties, financial problems and racial tensions than white students did. At predominantly white institutions black students reported high levels of interracial conflict, while at black universities they experienced intra-racial conflict, suggesting that a sensitivity to racial issues affects blacks' interactions, regardless of whether they are interacting with peers of their own, or other race groups. White students however, perceived racial conflicts as among their least problematic areas.
The finding that cultural and racial alienation separates black and white experiences is common to several studies. Gibbs (1973), for example, suggests that although many problems are experienced by both black and white students, black students experience a marginal ethnic identity and
disadvantaged status as a result of being a minority student. This feeling of separateness from
other students leads to high levels of anxiety, alienation and powerlessness. Suen (1983) also refers to black students' greater sense of alienation due to their minority status. Lea (1987) also argues that black students on historically white campuses experience low identification with the university, as a result of racial issues and the perceived under-representation of their needs.
There is also much evidence that black students in South Africa experience greater academic difficulty than white ones. They come from disadvantaged school backgrounds (Agar, 1990), have poorer academic skills (Coleman, 1993) and experience higher failure (Bulman, 1996) and attrition rates (Lang and Ford, 1988) than white students. Black students, therefore, do experience
greater adjustment difficulty than white students, at both predominantly white or black institutions, although at white ones they experience more inter-racial tension and cultural alienation.
Although South African studies have focus sed on the academic difficulties of black students, it appears that many of the difficulties experienced are of a non-cognitive, psycho-social nature.
Hence the second area of debate in the literature concerns the relationship between cognitive and non-cognitive factors in black students' adjustment to university.
Results suggest that psycho-social factors are as important as cognitive ones in predicting black students' adjustment to and success at university. The Non-Cognitive Questionnaire (NCQ) (Sedlacek and Brooks, 1976 in Tracey and Sedlacek, 1985) measures eight non-cognitive variables related to black students' academic success including self-concept, realistic self- appraisal, dealing with racism and availability of support. Tracey and Sedlacek (1985) used the NCQ and traditional Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) to predict academic success in a big sample of black and white students, finding that a combination of SAT and NCQ scores was highly predictive of success among black students. SAT scores alone did not predict black students' success, but NCQ scores alone did although they did not predict white students' success. These results indicate that different factors predict white and black performance, and that a combination of cognitive and non-cognitive factors best predicts the success of black students. Traditional academic predictors, therefore, seem to have little value alone in predicting black student success.
The above findings are supported by several other studies. Jay and D'Augelli (1991) found that traditional academic indicators, such as high school performance, were weakly related to black students' performance and Pentages and Creedon (1978in Suen, 1983) found that academic and psycho-social factors each accounted for half of the variance in predicting the attrition rates for black students. June et at. (1990), also found a consistent pattern of academic and psycho-social difficulties experienced by five groups of black students over a twelve year period.
The few South African studies report a similar pattern. Barnsley (1992) argues that psycho-social needs are as important as academic ones, requiring an approach that integrates both aspects. Lea (1987) also found that Psychology students attributed their academic difficulties more to non- cognitive factors like racial tension, lack of confidence and financial worries than they did to traditional academic factors. Agar (1992) also argues that black students' disadvantage is as affected by socio-political, psychological and economic factors as it is by educational matters, but that universities ignore these factors. While students considered their most severe problem
affecting their performance to be financial worries, staff perceived that their most severe difficulty to be lack of appropriate study skills and language difficulties, and rated material and
psychological factors as the least important issues affecting academic performance (Agar, 1992).
Coleman (1993) found similar misunderstandings in his survey of the problems experienced by black students. While students considered factors like accommodation and financial difficulties, lack of support and low self esteem to play a central role in their academic difficulties, staff undervalued these factors and related failures solely to inadequate academic skills and language concerns.
These studies therefore highlight the need for multivariate studies exploring the interaction
between cognitive and non-cognitive predictors of success, and the contextual factors that mediate their influence on adjustment to university and academic performance. These studies should be longitudinal, allowing one to identify both short and long-term effects on students' performance, as well as allowing for comparisons among different cohorts of students.Itwould be interesting for example, to compare the experiences of black students on historically white South African
campuses in the 1980's and early 1990's, with those of black students in the late 1990's by which time the racial composition of the student population had changed significantly.
More local research is also needed contrasting the experiences of white and black students on historically white and black campuses. Local research also needs to broaden its focus from
cognitive difficulties to compare the effects of cognitive, psycho-social and socio-political factors.
At the level of intervention, attempts are needed to address black students' feelings of alienation, powerlessness and racial isolation. These should target all aspects of student life, beginning with the development of more appropriate selection criteria that acknowledge the impact of non- cognitive variables on black student success. Lengthy orientation programmes also need to be developed, to prepare students both academically and psycho-socially for university study. Black role models need to be fostered through such initiatives as student mentor programmes
(Ntombela, Ogram, Zinner, Tshabalala and Majola, 1994) and affirmative action staff
appointments. Interracial contact should also be encouraged, and the development of a shared social identity.
Academic development programmes also need to view development more holistically, including improvement of academic performance and reduction in feelings of alienation: "Effective
support... has to address educational and socio-economic needs as well as the psychological needs of individual students" (Agar, 1992, p.1 00).
Lastly, more studies are needed subjecting current interventions to qualitative and quantitative evaluation, and comparing the efficacy of different interventions, in both the short and long term.
South African academic development suffers from a lack of rigorous evaluation of this kind. The next issue to be discussed in the current study therefore, is to critically explore how successful South African universities have been in addressing the adjustment difficulties referred to above, under the auspices of academic support and academic development programmes.