The Efficiency of Writing Centre on Student Academic Performance in a Selected Public Higher Institution

Description

Page: 130-139

Ndamase Maxhobandile, Ntando Yamkela, and Matenda Stenford (Directorate of Learning and Teaching, Writing Centre Unit, Mthatha Campus, Walter Sisulu University, South Africa)

Various studies reveal that students who come from disadvantaged backgrounds often struggle to adapt learning and teaching practices in tertiary institutions. To this end, tertiary institutions had to come up with innovative methods to equip these students to cope with the academic pressure at a tertiary level. The introduction of the writing centre office as a throughput strategy to curb this problem is thus investigated in this paper, to find out whether the writing centre office assists students to cope with the new methods of learning and teaching practised in institutions of Higher learning. This study is underpinned by two theories namely the socio-cognitive and sociocultural theories. Various studies in the form of literature were consulted in this paper with the aim of getting rich information on the critical role played by the writing centre in assisting marginalised students to cope with the new ways of learning and teaching. The literature revealed that the writing centre plays a significant role in assisting students but is not acknowledged in the academic field. In light of this, a mixed-method research approach was employed in this study and a cluster sampling strategy was adopted in a sample of Two Hundred (200) participants. The study thus found that lecturers appreciate the existence of the writing centre and that they are committed to sending their students to get assistance in terms of academic writing. The study further found that students find the writing centre useful in assisting them to improve on their writing, reading, and presentation skills. Due to the influence of the writing centre on student performance the study thus recommended that the writing centre should be made compulsory and that the Department of Higher Education and Training should increase its support to capacitate the writing centre.