Journals Information
Universal Journal of Educational Research Vol. 8(11), pp. 5342 - 5350
DOI: 10.13189/ujer.2020.081136
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A Closer Look at the Academic Support Seeking Behaviour of Male Undergraduate Students
Asheena Singh-Pillay *, Jayaluxmi Naidoo
School of Education, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
ABSTRACT
This qualitative case study embraced Social Construction theory to explore undergraduate male students' perceptions on the academic support provided at one university as well as their engagement in academic support seeking. The study aimed to examine the influence of masculinity on academic support seeking behaviour. Volunteer sampling was used to collect data from seventy undergraduate male students in the School of Accounting. An open-ended questionnaire and semi structured interviews were used to collate data. Data generated was subjected to content analysis which revealed that participants are aware of the academic support available to them and that they consider certain forms of non-academic support as necessary for their academic success. The findings revealed that participants engaged in academic support seeking via Academic Development Officers, specialist tutors, lecturers, peers, family members and no one. The findings exhibit the need for a greater understanding by lecturers and the relevant personnel of how masculinity impacts academic support seeking behaviour of undergraduate male students. The findings of this study reveal that for students to excel at university they need more than just academic support as their basic needs for food, financial support and health care must be met. Further findings illuminate that undergraduate male students' decisions and behaviours are profoundly shaped by rigid social and cultural expectations related to masculinity. The findings of this study are significant as they subvert the findings of previous studies that men avoid help seeking behaviour.
KEYWORDS
Academic Support Seeking Behaviour, Male Undergraduate Students, Masculinity, Socially Constructed Gender Norms
Cite This Paper in IEEE or APA Citation Styles
(a). IEEE Format:
[1] Asheena Singh-Pillay , Jayaluxmi Naidoo , "A Closer Look at the Academic Support Seeking Behaviour of Male Undergraduate Students," Universal Journal of Educational Research, Vol. 8, No. 11, pp. 5342 - 5350, 2020. DOI: 10.13189/ujer.2020.081136.
(b). APA Format:
Asheena Singh-Pillay , Jayaluxmi Naidoo (2020). A Closer Look at the Academic Support Seeking Behaviour of Male Undergraduate Students. Universal Journal of Educational Research, 8(11), 5342 - 5350. DOI: 10.13189/ujer.2020.081136.