A holistic approach to preparing disadvantaged students to succeed in tertiary science studies. Part II. Outcomes of the Science Foundation Programme

The Science Foundation Programme (SFP) is a year‐long pre‐degree programme designed to identify academically talented but underprepared black students who wish to pursue tertiary studies in science or applied science, and help them develop their potential in order to achieve this aim. In the model of the foundation programme adopted, we attempted to identify underlying skills, attitudes and resources that would help students succeed in their studies, and then tried to help the students acquire these in as efficient and lasting a way as possible. Thus the focus of the resulting curriculum is on issues such as cognitive skills, practical skills, effective study attitudes and strategies, peer learning, articulation and communication of understandings, positive coping skills, self‐reliance, confidence‐building and awareness of how each individual student learns best. The specific content was chosen primarily in order to provide a vehicle for the development of useful scientific skills, rather than for its own...

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