Supplemental Instruction as a Tool for Students' Academic Performance in Higher Education

Abstract

Supplemental instruction (SI), which can be referred to as academic support has been linked to the successful academic performance of university students both locally and internationally. This study explores the successful implementation of SI to encourage students toward academic performance in a South African university. Constructivism theory (CT) was adopted as the theoretical framework for the study while Participatory Research (PR) was the research design. A focused group interview was used to collect data because of its relevance and assumptions of academic support such as supplemental instruction. Two lecturers, two tutors, two tutees, and two SI personnel were selected for the study from a selected university. At the same time, thematic analysis was chosen to analyse the data generated. The findings showed that through the intervention of SI, first-year students' academic performance increased while the dropout rate has also reduced.