Predicting Success among First-Year Engineering Students at the Rand Afrikaans University

Abstract

160 first-year students in the Engineering Faculty at the Rand Afrikaans University completed the Study Orientation Questionnaire in Mathematics and the Senior Aptitude Test Advanced. 100 students who passed and 40 who failed the first year scored significantly differently on three subtests, Calculations, Study attitude in mathematics, and Problem-solving behaviour in mathematics. Step-wise linear regression showed a combination of three fields, namely, Calculations, Study attitude in mathematics, and Mathematics anxiety, contributed significantly ( R2 = 25.8%) towards predicting the first-year aggregate score of first-year engineering students.