Investigates perceptions of the universe of (n=232) first-year physics students from two South African universities. Compared results with Aristotelian and Newtonian views as well as with those of children as revealed in a literature survey. Results also showed that a statistically significant larger number of African than European students have…

Research on the cognitive components of academic achievement subjected White South African schoolchildren to several visual perception tests. Results indicated an association between measures of visual perception and tests of reading and arithmetic performance. Cognitive complexity emerged as an important differentiating feature of perceptual…