Academic and Social Adjustment Struggles of First-Year B.Ed. Humanities Students: Insights from a South African University

Zenande Nonkula ORCID iD & Nana Yaw Brenya Agyeman ORCID iD 

Issue: Vol. 6 No.14 Article 12 pp.3678 – 3691
DOI: https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.202561412 | Published online 29th December, 2025
© 2025 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

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First-year B.Ed. Humanities students often experience significant challenges transitioning from high school to university, particularly in adapting to academic expectations and navigating social environments. This study aimed to explore the academic and social adjustment struggles faced by first-year B.Ed. Humanities students at a South African university are using Tinto’s Theory of Student Integration and Bandura’s Social Learning Theory as guiding frameworks. A qualitative research design and interpretive paradigm were applied using qualitative questionnaires completed by a purposive sample of first-year students. Data was analysed through thematic analysis. Key themes emerged, including difficulties with independent learning, managing time and multiple modules, language and communication barriers, social isolation, and challenges with group work dynamics. The study highlights the interconnected nature of academic and social challenges in student adjustment, reinforcing the importance of institutional support in fostering student integration and self-efficacy. This study contributes to scholarship by providing context-specific insights into the lived experiences of South African B.Ed. Humanities students, expanding the application of established theoretical frameworks in understanding student adjustment within underexplored educational settings, and informing targeted interventions to enhance student retention and success.

Keywords: academic adjustment, social integration, first-year students, B.Ed. Humanities, South African higher education.

 

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Zenande Nonkula is a Geography Education lecturer at Walter Sisulu University, Queenstown Campus, with a strong focus on Physical Geography, particularly Hydrology. She specialises in geography education, teacher professional development, and geohydrological perspectives that strengthen both theoretical and applied learning. Her recent work examines competencies developed through geography microteaching, with a growing interest in how hydrological concepts and water-related sustainability issues can be taught through learner-centred and digitally enhanced approaches. She also integrates digital tools to deepen geospatial and hydrological understanding within teacher training. She has a growing research footprint in higher education, contributes to academic mentoring, and is actively involved in advancing innovative, hydrology-informed teaching methodologies that promote sustainable development.

Nana Yaw B. Agyeman is a Lecturer in the Department of Business and Management Education within the Faculty of Education at Walter Sisulu University. His research interests encompass a diverse range of areas, including school leadership, curriculum development and instructional design and pedagogies, and multidisciplinary research in higher education and education in general.

Nonkula, Zenande,  Nana Yaw Brenya Agyeman. “ Academic and Social Adjustment Struggles of First-Year B.Ed. Humanities Students: Insights from a South African University.” E-Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences 6, no. 14 (2025): 3678 – 3691, https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.202561412

© 2025 The Author(s). Published and Maintained by Noyam Journals. This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

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