AN ANALYSIS OF PROGRAMMING SKILLS CHALLENGES AMONG FIRST YEAR UNIVERSITY STUDENTS FROM DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES IN SOUTH AFRICA

The legacy of Apartheid still rears its ugly head in the South African education institutions especially those institutions that were reserved for black South Africans. Such institutions still receive much of their first year students from schools in surrounding rural areas that previously were divided into what was known as Bantustans. Such schools are still characterised by lack of resources such as mathematics and science teachers, classroom infrastructures and more importantly, computers and other technological teaching aids. Lack of computers has led to a curriculum that excludes computer literacy and computer programming. This leads to students having serious difficulties in learning computer programming. This research investigated and analysed computer programming challenges that University students from rural schools in South Africa have and how this has impacted on their academic performance. The research used a quantitative approach and data was collected from 300 first year students from Walter Sisulu University. Purposeful sampling method was used in coming out with the study sample. The results show that to a larger extent students lacked problem solving skills and a correlation with competency in programming was noted. Furthermore previous experience with computers was found to have a significant impact on students’ academic performance. The findings can be used for curriculum development for first year courses for programming students. The findings also reveal an urgent need for all rural schools in South Africa to include computers in their curriculum.