The researchers state in the article that, because only 15.3 per cent of the speakers of African languages were in the high-achievement group in the study sample, both "educators and mental health practitioners" should be concerned (Grobler & Myburgh, 2001: 9). Not all nurses are mental health practitioners; however, most nurses are concerned with the mental health of their patients. Therefore, the problem in this study is significant for the nursing profession. Grobler & Myburgh (2001:3-12) are not attempting in this study to develop new theory. Rather, they appear to be developing a persuasive argument that the problem is real, relevant, and deserving of professional attention.
Philosophically, this study is founded in comparative cultural values and the effect that culture has on academic performance in mixed or cross cultural environments. Epistemologically, the study is concerned with viewing the same phenomena through differing cultural lens. Theoretically, the authors based the work on (a) the concept of time within a mental health perspective and (b) the interrelationship between time and culture (Grobler & Myburgh, 2001: 5-6). Theory was used to provide the focus for this study, which was to measure and validate the effects on academic performance of varying perceptions of time, with a person's primary language as an intervening variable (Grobler & Myburgh, 2001: 4). No information was included in the article that would allow anyone to identify the subjected studied. Based on the procedures described in the article and the description of the instrument, there appear to be no ethical lapses involved in dealing with the subjects; however, the authors do not address the issues of ethics, privacy, and protection of human subjects.
The research problem, according to the authors was that South African "learners are sufficiently equipped for academic achievements" (Grobler & Myburgh, 2001: 4). That statement appears t...