The status of students’ knowledge of using statistical procedures

1.3.1. Context of Developed Countries

A broader responsibility, beyond national interests for developed countries, exists in the interdependent world to address universal issues of higher education. The system of higher education in the USA includes community colleges, four-year colleges and research universities. There are state, religious affiliated and private universities. One

can hardly call it a system. Thullen Heyl and Brownell (2002) mention that no central body at national level controls, or coordinates higher education in the USA, even with respect to international programmes and activities. Concerning research and graduate education, the United States is reputed to have one of the greatest systems of advanced education in the world (Kezar, Chambers & Burkhardt, 2015; Alexander, 2000).

However, the weakening of public asset in education and academic research tends to reduce the ability of America‟s academic research to yield new acquaintance for revolution (Mohrman, Ma & Baker, 2008); although, the specific heterogeneous character of the American HES keeps them dominant in the world (De Wit, 2009;

Clark, 1986). Many countries set the striving objective of providing their people with prevalent, permanent learning. This creates factual learning environment. However, the constant expansion of education and social capital are driving economic prosperity, national security, and social welfare (Duderstadt, 2009). In addition, HES in the world currently tends to solve significant problems linked to the general dynamic conditions of students, in which their particular interest is based on solutions; therefore, institutions are compelled to produce the real changes in social interactions (Fullan, 2007).

1.3.2. Context of Developing Countries

During the course of the last decades, much of Sub-Saharan Africa has suffered from deep poverty, corruption, disease, natural disasters and international conflict (Ake, 1991; Ikejiaku, 2009). More remains to be done; the capacity to use statistical data is still limited; the challenges are to fit in indicators into policymaking, in order to endorse exposed right to use data, to improve their use, and to increase statistics systems (World Bank, 2011; De Francesco, 2016). Data are useful and relevant for refining people‟s life everywhere. Higher education in Africa is vitally important to its development. African universities have the ability to transform themselves and promote national development (Altbach, 2009). Unfortunately, its universities suffered from an enormous decline in government resources for education. Evaluating contemporary education systems in Africa is difficult, since it is a challenge to generalise (Sawyerr, 2004).

Regarding sub-Saharan countries, there is a great variety in the traditional cultural institutions and practices of ethnic groups. In many cultures, authority is centralised, leadership tends to be inherited, and advancement is limited to particular lineages and clans (Omolewa & Kellaghan, 2003). Position of prestige, authority and leadership are

achieved based on the individual‟s ability, knowledge and skills. However, the meritocratic assumptions in Western systems of education and evaluation would differ from the African traditions. African societies are different because some regions were under Western cultural influences. Such cultural contact was marked by the willingness and openness of traditional cultures to change, and their acceptance of a new ideology (Omolewa & Kellaghan, 2003).

An attempt to address these limitations of knowledge and space (variation in educational activity on the continent and the complexity of that variation) is inadequately presented. Learning had standard criteria, by which those, who engaged in learning, were certified as having been successful (Omolewa & Kellaghan, 2003). This creates an avenue to improve the quality of trans-border higher education, in the logic of ensuring its occasions, enhanced by innovative actions in higher education. The potential is summed up in these two aspects, adding the internationalisation of higher education, as a root for the expansion and exhibition of scientific knowledge at various levels. Since international donors (partners such as World Bank [2008] and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisations [UNESCO] 2009]) supported statistical capacity and the application of statistical procedures, as well as development in developing countries in 2008, much progress has been made concerning these issues. Recently, the 2009 Dakar Declaration on the development of statistics, reiterated that intensive effort is required to use statistical data more effectively, to support programmes, as well as strengthen and sustain the capacity of statistical systems, especially in developing countries (UNESCO, 2009).

Empirical studies, conducted at various universities, are genuine evidence that confirm the interactions between changes in academic context, the students‟ influence on teaching, as well as their learning outcomes (Laurillard, 2013; Biggs, 2011). An attempt to restructure learning cultures to respond to frameworks, may unfortunately discourage innovation and enhance passive, as well as instrumental attitudes to learning. Regarding statistical learning, considerable literature is available on self-efficacy to learn statistics among students in developed countries; however, comparatively little scholarly attention was given to Africa (Biggs, 2011; Knight & Yorke, 2004).

Concerning the application of statistical procedures, universities are expected to increase graduates‟ total understanding of statistics, as well as assist them with special and broad skills, regarding their capacity to innovate the ability to learn (Schunk, 2008).

The real impact of the learning programme focusses on the interactions between certain key changes, such as academic aspects, teaching and the curricula, students‟ abilities and their feedback (Biggs, 2011). Education is likely to be transformed as a pedagogical exchange, in which the lecturer is considered the producer of knowledge and the student, the consumer of knowledge (Molesworth, Nixon & Scullion, 2009).

Ultimately, rather than merely stipulating new procedures to enhance higher education, mechanisms may be perceived as a way to transform academic values and relationships, to comply with market frameworks (Naidoo, Shankar & Veer, 2011).

1.3.3. Context of South Africa

Given that little is known about statistics problems among university students in South Africa, the present study was conducted, in order to evaluate whether the postgraduate students had any differences about self-efficacy in learning statistics at Western Cape universities. The apartheid system promulgated that some ethnic groups had limited ability, and, therefore, were only allowed to study in specific programmes and courses (Swartz & Foley, 1996; Higher Education Quality Committee [HEQC], 2006). For a variety of reasons, black students entered university into fields such as social work, or divinity (Badat, 2016).

Therefore, South African advanced education reform was challenged with collective, administrative and financial problems, arising from global environments, after the democratic elections of 1994 (Scott, Yeld & Hendry, 2007). Higher education in South Africa involves the interaction of policies to engage problems of reparation, and admission to higher education remains one mechanism for the achievement thereof in South Africa (Horsthemke, 2004). An introduction of a quality assurance framework enables admission, by improving student success, as opposed to simply ensuring their participation (Akoojee & Nkomo, 2007). A comprehensive quality assurance agenda, with fixed pledge to admission, would probably reply suitably to national development prerogatives of higher education access (Akoojee & Nkomo, 2007). South African universities have engaged various initiatives to substitute, as well as respond to the changes in society, while preparing students for the realities of increasing globalization.

The proper expansion of expertise could help to achieve academic performance, enabling students to encounter the requirements of industry. University staff members are progressively redirecting students to address the social imbalances inherited from apartheid, as well as respond to social needs (Nicol & Macfarlane-Dick, 2006).

Real world difficulties are multifaceted; therefore, it is vital to mix knowledge and information from various academic disciplines, including education, engineering, art &

humanity, applied, natural and social sciences (Griffiths*, 2004). Based on what is learnt from diverse experiences, the aforementioned challenges are addressed simultaneously, in order to fulfil the reality of learning statistics (Fink, 2013). Shared learning, through teamwork, includes the organisation of academic programmes, as well as the pathway for careers (Brundiers, Wiek & Redman, 2010). This current study, however, promotes a better understanding of the interaction between graduate students and their environment, and collaborates on common environmental issues.

Understanding how the notion of statistics has been combined into academic research, is indispensable to contextualising practices and behaviours for quality assurance (Brundiers, Wiek & Redman, 2010). This current study opts for a large contextual background to assess the postgraduate students‟ ability to apply statistics skills and deal with social and behavioural sciences at the relevant universities. An important aspect to consider is that these students have learned statistics courses, in some cases, for one or two semesters, in other cases, for three years, as part of their programme. As mentioned previously, the statistics course is a tool for the understanding of research projects. It also contributes to the accomplishment of a specific research situation, instead of being considered a pure academic discipline (National Research Council [NRC], 2012).

However, the research methodology and statistics courses are intended to expand students‟ computational skills, with or without the conceptual understanding of theory, or the use of computer packages (Chance, Ben-Zvi, Garfield & Medina, 2007).

South African scholars face serious challenges to sustain research and intellectual activities around socio-cultural diversity, which is still under pressure. The legacies of Apartheid remain a barrier, when developing a critical theory of diversity for the recognition of difference that advances the cause of social equality, through students who retard it, or undermine it (Jansen, 2004; Higham, 2012). The South African government faces very hard queries about how best to reform the HES. The significant

skills allow students to think more critically and learn independently, thereby reducing dropout rates, achieving full potential, and utilising better knowledge in industry. In addition, good statistics are essential for developing policies that effectively improve the welfare and productivity of students (Altbach, Reisberg & Rumbley, 2010).