The Role of Socioeconomic Status on Students' Employment Expectations in South Africa

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dc.contributor.advisorBagraim, Jeffrey
dc.contributor.advisorSait, Zaakiyah
dc.contributor.authorWeaver, Michaela
dc.date.accessioned2022-03-29T12:51:46Z
dc.date.available2022-03-29T12:51:46Z
dc.date.issued2021
dc.date.updated2022-03-22T13:06:36Z
dc.description.abstractThe influence of students' socioeconomic statuses (SES) on their employment expectations is a largely understudied topic in the context of South Africa. There has additionally been little focus on the extent to which students' SESs affect their willingness to settle for lower earnings and their anticipation of socioeconomic discrimination in the workplace. With South Africa's unique SES makeup, as spurred on by the remnants of apartheid, it is important to investigate the effect that students' SESs may have upon their 1) earnings expectations 2) employment expectations 3) anticipated socioeconomic status discrimination and 4) willingness to settle for lower earnings. Bandura's (1977) Social Cognitive Learning Theory (SCLT) was used to investigate how students' employment expectations differ based on their environments and core self-evaluations. This theory was therefore used to ground and inform this research. In a quantitative, cross-sectional study with a South Africa student sample (N = 346), this study obtained the following results: 1) SES does not significantly predict students' earning expectations and employment expectations over and above the control variables 2) SES significantly predicts students' anticipated socioeconomic status discrimination and willingness to settle for lower earnings 3) core self-evaluation significantly moderates the relationships between socioeconomic status and students' earning expectations as well as between socioeconomic status and willingness to settle for lower earnings 4) core self-evaluation does not significantly moderate the relationships between socioeconomic status and students' employment expectations as well as between socioeconomic status and anticipated socioeconomic status discrimination. This study has important implications for organizational policy concerning the advocation and implementation of work free from discrimination in South Africa. Through this research, organizations may be provided with insight into how individuals' work expectations may differ based on their SESs, potentially leading to the creation of more inclusive policies and practices. Limitations and future recommendations are outlined.
dc.identifier.apacitationWeaver, M. (2021). <i>The Role of Socioeconomic Status on Students' Employment Expectations in South Africa</i>. (). ,Faculty of Commerce ,Organisational Psychology. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/36227en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationWeaver, Michaela. <i>"The Role of Socioeconomic Status on Students' Employment Expectations in South Africa."</i> ., ,Faculty of Commerce ,Organisational Psychology, 2021. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/36227en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationWeaver, M. 2021. The Role of Socioeconomic Status on Students' Employment Expectations in South Africa. . ,Faculty of Commerce ,Organisational Psychology. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/36227en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Master Thesis AU - Weaver, Michaela AB - The influence of students' socioeconomic statuses (SES) on their employment expectations is a largely understudied topic in the context of South Africa. There has additionally been little focus on the extent to which students' SESs affect their willingness to settle for lower earnings and their anticipation of socioeconomic discrimination in the workplace. With South Africa's unique SES makeup, as spurred on by the remnants of apartheid, it is important to investigate the effect that students' SESs may have upon their 1) earnings expectations 2) employment expectations 3) anticipated socioeconomic status discrimination and 4) willingness to settle for lower earnings. Bandura's (1977) Social Cognitive Learning Theory (SCLT) was used to investigate how students' employment expectations differ based on their environments and core self-evaluations. This theory was therefore used to ground and inform this research. In a quantitative, cross-sectional study with a South Africa student sample (N = 346), this study obtained the following results: 1) SES does not significantly predict students' earning expectations and employment expectations over and above the control variables 2) SES significantly predicts students' anticipated socioeconomic status discrimination and willingness to settle for lower earnings 3) core self-evaluation significantly moderates the relationships between socioeconomic status and students' earning expectations as well as between socioeconomic status and willingness to settle for lower earnings 4) core self-evaluation does not significantly moderate the relationships between socioeconomic status and students' employment expectations as well as between socioeconomic status and anticipated socioeconomic status discrimination. This study has important implications for organizational policy concerning the advocation and implementation of work free from discrimination in South Africa. Through this research, organizations may be provided with insight into how individuals' work expectations may differ based on their SESs, potentially leading to the creation of more inclusive policies and practices. Limitations and future recommendations are outlined. DA - 2021_ DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town KW - earning expectations KW - employment expectations KW - socioeconomic status KW - students KW - South Africa LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PY - 2021 T1 - The Role of Socioeconomic Status on Students' Employment Expectations in South Africa TI - The Role of Socioeconomic Status on Students' Employment Expectations in South Africa UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/36227 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/36227
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationWeaver M. The Role of Socioeconomic Status on Students' Employment Expectations in South Africa. []. ,Faculty of Commerce ,Organisational Psychology, 2021 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/36227en_ZA
dc.language.rfc3066eng
dc.publisher.departmentOrganisational Psychology
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Commerce
dc.subjectearning expectations
dc.subjectemployment expectations
dc.subjectsocioeconomic status
dc.subjectstudents
dc.subjectSouth Africa
dc.titleThe Role of Socioeconomic Status on Students' Employment Expectations in South Africa
dc.typeMaster Thesis
dc.type.qualificationlevelMasters
dc.type.qualificationlevelMCom
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