ABSTRACT
South Africa has recently emerged from an oppressive political and educational system, and many students who were educationally disadvantaged by the previous political system are now entering the field of higher education. Academic Support Programmes were introduced in South Africa in order to meet the needs of these students. However, the concept of Academic Support has evolved into one of Academic Development, where it is acknowledged that institutions of higher learning need to adapt to the new profile of our student populations. One of the results of the changes taking place is that the specific focus of education has now been overtly stated as being ‘to produce lifelong learners’. South African educators now acknowledge the need to become a learning society, and the ability to understand how one learns most effectively is central to this.
