  This article discusses a three-year study (2020 - 2022) of dominant
misconceptions (DMs) for a large cohort of first-year physics course students
at the University of Johannesburg (UJ), South Africa. Our study considered
pre-test scores on the Force Concept Inventory using a graphical method, where
we found statistical differences between the mean DM scores for the 2020
cohort, as compared to the 2021 and 2022 cohort; possibly due to the onset of
COVID lockdowns. We also compared our data from South Africa with cohorts based
in Spain and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where the method of DMs was also
applied. From this comparison, we found some differences in the preconception
knowledge of the cohorts. Furthermore, we included an analysis of DMs through
the `gender lens' for the South African cohort, finding no statistically
significant difference between the means for DM scores of students who identify
as male or female. Finally, given the diverse language backgrounds and levels
of matriculation preparation for university level physics courses, we have also
shown how quickly responding to student misconceptions can be efficiently
addressed using the method of DMs.
