Because of their well documented high failure and drop out rates in historically white South African universities, the success of black South African students in United States universities seems anomalous. As Kraft (1991) and Tinto (1987) suggest, in order to understand why the latter perform better academically, it is necessary to go beyond the formal views of faculty and administrators and explore how the students themselves perceive their academic experiences.
In order to explore these concerns, the study involved interviewing four black South African undergraduate students from two predominantly white institutions, one in the Midwest and the other on the East Coast. Documents from their institutions were also analyzed to examine each institution's mission for the education of diverse students, especially students from other countries. To create a context for understanding the anomaly of the success of these students, a questionnaire was sent to black students in a historically white South African university. A second set was sent to similar students in universities across the United States. The data collected explored these students' experiences prior to, as well as during their enrollment in United States universities.
Data analysis indicated that both the interviewed as well as the surveyed students attributed their success, first, to their own motivation, determination, and hard work. Second, they attributed it to adequate facilities, effective instructional techniques, and challenging curricula. At the same time, all were also critical of their instructors' reliance on lecture and theoretical content and pedagogy in the classroom. What their experiences lacked were opportunities for them to apply what they learned in practical situations. While students in both contexts experienced racism in their institutions, those in the United States strongly believed that their hard work paid off due to the fact that their instructors treated and graded them fairly. Unlike their South African counterparts, who viewed and treated these students as disadvantaged and poorly prepared high school graduates, professors in the United States saw them as capable, highly motivated, and hard working international students.
Implications for United States universities include the need for practical learning experiences and pedagogy, so as to enable the students to adapt what they learn to practical situations. Implications for South African universities include creating academic and social support services for the students, ongoing inservice training regarding education of students from diverse cultures, and enlarging the curriculum so as to provide a wider selection of courses for different levels of preparation and interest.
