Narrative Based Motivation for Engineering Students

Students at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) come from various socio-economic backgrounds. It has been shown that socio-economic standing has a significant impact on retention of engineering students as well as on achievements attained in their course. For universities in South Africa to remain relevant students need to be able to succeed in their tertiary studies. Although there will always be students who do not succeed and are not retained it is important to assist students who start their tertiary education at a disadvantage. Theoretically the range of achievements acquired should be similar for students from all walks of life as their range of potential is similar. By exposing students to short narratives from senior students describing their personal experience; from feeling insecure and not coping to gaining a sense of coping with the academic and social demands of the university, and in this way the achievement gap is reduced. These narratives aim to give students realistic expectations with regard to their academic careers.