Understanding and responding to student learning difficulties within the higher education context

Higher education in South Africa is challenged to promote the academic success of students through quality teaching and learning. This article provides a sound theoretical understanding of student learning difficulties as difficulties of accessing and mastering the cognitive processes entailed in the groundrules of the specific academic disciplines within higher education Based on this theoretical groundwork. the article argues for the integration of academic development into the mainstream teaching and learning activities of specific disciplines where the tutorial system is used to develop the specific academic literacy required for success within the discipline