South African University Students Research Articles

Relationship Between Entrepreneurial Competencies and Entrepreneurial Intention Among South African University Students: A Gender Perspective

Promoting entrepreneurial activity is considered vital for stimulating job creation, innovation, and economic development. However, prior research emphasises the importance of entrepreneurs’ confidence in their capability or skills as a driver in their decision to launch a new venture, and in facilitating opportunity recognition on which the entrepreneurial process rests. Thus, success in launching, managing, and ensuring the survival and growth of a new venture is dependent on entrepreneurs’ competencies. Entrepreneurial competencies can be a differentiating factor between individuals with strong entrepreneurial intentions and those who have no entrepreneurial intentions. Despite the broad nature and variety of entrepreneurial competencies, there is some consensus among researchers that entrepreneurial competencies are learnable, and they can be developed through entrepreneurship education. Due to the realisation of their importance, there has been growing concerted research efforts directed at uncovering the nature and types, and the role of entrepreneurial competencies in achieving venture performance, and how they can be taught. Despite the fact that individuals can be taught to acquire entrepreneurial competencies, there is paucity of research on the effect of entrepreneurship education on entrepreneurial competencies. The objectives of the study were to determine gender differences in entrepreneurial competencies and entrepreneurial intention, test the relationship between gender and entrepreneurial competencies, to determine the effect of entrepreneurship education on entrepreneurial competencies and entrepreneurial intention, and the relationship between entrepreneurial competencies and entrepreneurial intention. The study was conducted based on a quantitative survey in which 585 South African university students completed a structured questionnaire. Data were analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) by means of regression analysis, Mann-Whitney U test and descriptive statistics. Findings indicate that entrepreneurial competencies had a significant positive relationship with entrepreneurial intention. Entrepreneurship education had an insignificant relationship with entrepreneurial competencies, and no significant differences were found between entrepreneurial competencies of the respondents who had had entrepreneurship education and those who did not. The results further revealed that gender had a significant positive relationship with entrepreneurial competencies. Additionally, the results revealed significant gender differences in entrepreneurial competencies and entrepreneurial intention.

(Non)fungibility of socio-cultural capital for rural-based students in South African universities

The number of university students coming from rural areas has significantly increased in South Africa in the last two decades. While this is a positive sign of inclusive social growth and development, the fact that 70% of South African universities are still located in urban areas creates challenges for a number of these students. This is also compounded by the fact that most rural schools in South Africa offer sub-optimal preparation for post-school activities. As such, the first barrier for most of these students is negotiating various levels of access to higher education (HE), using forms of social and cultural capital that may be incommensurate with urban-based HE institutions. Using an in-depth review of literature on the subject of rural education, transition to higher education, student success and reflections on the professional experience of the authors in student support services in higher education. This study argues that since most South African universities are “urban enclaves”, students from rural areas take time to adapt and accumulate relevant socio-cultural capital to enable them to thrive and succeed. The transition of students from rural schools to urban-based universities is a socio-cultural as much as it is an epistemological mobility. As such, this “troubled transition” of rural students can be ameliorated through a trans-sectoral or transdisciplinary transitional intervention to simultaneously enable epistemological access and create commensurate socio-cultural capital. However, previous interventions on student transition have been generic and lacked the nuanced intersectional analysis of rurality on student access and success.Transdisciplinary contribution: The study proposes a trans-sectoral or transdisciplinary transitional space in which education institutions (basic and HE) collaborate with government and non-state partners to ensure sufficient and effective transition, especially for rural school learners.

Can life satisfaction be measured fairly for different groups of South African first-year university students? Testing differential item functioning and invariance of The Satisfaction With Life Scale

Student well-being has gradually become a topic of interest in higher education, and the accurate, valid, and reliable measure of well-being constructs is crucial in the South African context. This study examined item bias and configural, metric and scalar invariance of the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) for South African first-year university students. A cross-sectional design was used. A sample of 780 first-year South African university students was included. Confirmatory factor analysis, differential item functioning (DIF) measurement invariance, and internal consistency were tested. A one-factor structure was confirmed. Item 1 of the SWLS was particularly problematic concerning bias (uniform and non-uniform bias). Measurement invariance was established; however, Item 1 was again problematic, resulting in only partial metric and scalar invariance. The scale was reliable (α ≥ 0.70). This study contributes to the limited research on the specific psychometric properties of the SWLS in a diverse Higher Education setting. The results could assist with valid and reliable measurement when developing interventions to enhance student well-being.

Repetitive negative thinking mediates the relationship between experiential avoidance and emotional distress among South African university students

The psychological processes contributing to emotional distress among university students in South Africa have not been extensively researched. The current study sought to examine the mediating role of repetitive negative thinking on the relationship between experiential avoidance and student emotional distress. A convenience sample of 419 students from a large public university in South Africa participated in this study. The results indicated that experiential avoidance and repetitive negative thinking positively predict emotional distress. Furthermore, repetitive negative thinking partially mediates the interaction between experiential avoidance and emotional distress. These findings highlight the importance of targeting experiential avoidance and repetitive negative thinking in the alleviation and management of emotional distress among students in the South African higher education environment.

Assessing awareness, knowledge, and perceptions of hubbly bubbly smoking health risks among South African university students

Assessing awareness, knowledge, and perceptions of hubbly bubbly smoking health risks among South African university students

Predicting Suicide Risk among South African University Students: Optimal Cutoff Score for the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale

University students have been identified as a particularly vulnerable group for adverse mental health outcomes owing to the distinctive implications of the COVID-19 prevention measures on the educational sector. Even prior to the pandemic, university students were identified as being at increased risk for adverse mental health outcomes and suicidality. Although various factors can enhance the risk of suicide, one of the strongest predictors of suicidality is the presence of depressive symptomology. The current study used receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis to determine the optimal cutoff score on the CES-D when screening for suicide risk in university students during COVID-19 in South Africa. Participants (n = 337) were students at a historically disadvantaged university in South Africa. The ROC analysis showed no statistically significant difference between men’s and women's area under the curve (AUC); thus, a single AUC can be used for the whole sample. The study found that a cutoff score of 30 with a sensitivity of 89.30 and a specificity of 62.60 represented an acceptable cutoff point. It is recommended that when the instrument is used among student populations, those with scores of 30 and above need to be followed up with a clinician-administered interview to confirm suicide risk and facilitate timely intervention.

In the Wake of COVID-19: The Developmental and Mental Health Fallout Amongst South African University Students.

Multiple studies have noted the impacts on student mental health of the COVID-19 pandemic, associated national lockdowns and emergency remote teaching. In light of COVID-19 shifting from pandemic to endemic status, this study investigates the developmental and mental health consequences of the pandemic for a group of South African undergraduate students. A qualitative design allowed for the thematic analysis of the narratives of 140 humanities students, gathered through an online survey. This paper presents the 'voices' of this group to convey the intensity of their COVID-19 experience. The results suggest a loss of a sense of freedom and opportunities to explore and experiment, high levels of depression with a notable sense of hopelessness regarding the future and decreased motivation, and significant reports of social anxiety related to delays in the development of social skills due to social isolation, particular to the first-year cohort.

Electronic library resource use by postgraduate students at a university of technology in South Africa

Background: A university of technology in South Africa provides different kinds of e-library resources to its users. Not much is known about the use of these e-library resources by postgraduate students. The existing literature focuses mostly on using e-library resources by all university students and do not specifically emphasise postgraduate students. Therefore, there is a need for a study to investigate the use of e-library resources by postgraduate students.Objective: The study aimed to investigate the use patterns and the factors influencing the use of e-library resources by postgraduate students of a university of technology in South Africa.Method: The unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) model was used to conceptualise the study. A quantitative approach was used with a descriptive survey research method. Questionnaires were designed and distributed through email using survey monkey.Results: Facilitating conditions (FCs) directly influence postgraduate students’ intention to use e-library resources and age moderates the influence of facilitating conditions on e-library resource use. Mediated by behavioural intention (BI), e-library resource use is influenced by performance expectancy (PE), by effort expectancy (EE) and by social influence (SI).Conclusion: The UTAUT model was used to determine the use patterns and the factors influencing the use of e-library resources by postgraduate students of a university of technology in South Africa.Contribution: The literature has underemphasised the need to investigate the influence of postgraduate students in South African universities using e-library resources. Therefore, the study results are expected to fill that gap.

Intention to dropout and study satisfaction: testing item bias and structural invariance of measures for South African first-year university students

PurposeThis study examined the psychometric properties of intention to drop out and study satisfaction measures for first-year South African students. The factorial validity, item bias, measurement invariance and reliability were tested.Design/methodology/approachA cross-sectional design was used. For the study on intention to drop out, 1,820 first-year students participated, whilst 780 first-year students participated in the study on satisfaction with studies. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), differential item functioning (DIF), measurement invariance and internal consistency were used to test the scales.FindingsA one-factor structure was confirmed for both scales. For the intention to drop out scale, Items 3 and 4 were identified with statistically significant item bias; however, these differences had no practical impact. Except for scalar invariance for language, sufficient measurement invariance was established. No problematic items were identified for the study satisfaction scale.Practical implicationsIn essence, this study provides evidence of two short measures that are culturally sensitive that could be used as short and valid measures across contextual boundaries as practically valuable tools to measure intention to drop out and study satisfaction in diverse and multicultural contexts.Originality/valueThis study contributes to limited research on bias and invariance analyses for scales that can be used in interventions to identify students at risk of leaving the university and utilising psychometric analyses to ensure the applicability of these two scales in diverse and multicultural settings.

Psychometric properties of the Flourishing Scale for South African first-year students

This study focused on a positive construct of well-being, namely flourishing. In a multicultural and diverse country such as South Africa, it is a legal requirement to provide evidence that measures of psychological constructs, like flourishing, are fair, unbiased, and equivalent for diverse groups in the country. The aim was to test the psychometric properties of the Flourishing Scale, a purpose-made scale that measures positive functioning across various areas of life. This study tested the factorial validity, item bias, measurement invariance and reliability of the Flourishing Scale in a sample of 1088 South African first-year university students. A unidimensional structure was confirmed. Although three items showed statistically significant uniform and total bias for language and campus groups, the magnitude and practical impact were negligible. No evidence of bias across gender groups was found. Configural, metric and partial scalar invariance were established for language and campus groups. Full measurement invariance was established across gender groups. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was 0.91, indicating high reliability. The study provided promising results for using the Flourishing Scale among South African university students to measure flourishing as an aspect of well-being.Contribution: This study contributes to the field of student well-being in South Africa. No studies could be found that test for item bias or measurement invariance of the Flourishing Scale, specifically for South African first-year students. This study is the first to test these psychometric properties of a Flourishing Scale in a multicultural setting for students from different languages.

Hope and its relation to grit and subjective well-being among first-year South African university students

This study investigated the relationship between hope (agency and pathways thinking), grit, and subjective well-being (life satisfaction and positive and negative emotions) among South African first-year university students (n = 210; mean age = 20.35 years, SD = 1.49 years; female = 55.71%). Data were collected using the Adult Hope Scale (AHS), Grit Scale (GS), Satisfaction with Life Scale (SwLS), and the Scale of Positive and Negative Experience (SPANE). Regression analyses indicated hope predicted higher grit, satisfaction with life, and positive emotions. Female students reported significantly higher agency and negativity scores, whereas males reported scores on the pathways dimension. Hope is essential in student development and support programmes and may buffer students experiencing academic-related challenges.

:Studying While Black: Race, Education and Emancipation in South African Universities

:<i>Studying While Black: Race, Education and Emancipation in South African Universities</i>

South African University Students’ Use of AI-Powered Tools for Engaged Learning

South African University Students’ Use of AI-Powered Tools for Engaged Learning

South African university students' experiences of online group cognitive behavioural therapy: Implications for delivering digital mental health interventions to young people.

Mental disorders are common among university students. In the face of a large treatment gap, resource constraints and low uptake of traditional in-person psychotherapy services by students, there has been interest in the role that digital mental health solutions could play in meeting students' mental health needs. This study is a cross-sectional, qualitative inquiry into university students' experiences of an online group cognitive behavioural therapy (GCBT) intervention. A total of 125 respondents who had participated in an online GCBT intervention completed a qualitative questionnaire, and 12 participated in in-depth interviews. The findings provide insights into how the context in which the intervention took place, students' need for and expectations about the intervention; and the online format impacted their engagement and perception of its utility. The findings of this study also suggest that, while online GCBT can capitalise on some of the strengths of both digital and in-person approaches to mental health programming, it also suffers from some of the weaknesses of both digital delivery and those associated with in-person therapies.

Self-esteem, Interpersonal Communication Competence, and Media and Technology Usage as Predictors of Loneliness Among University Students

Loneliness is a common concern among university students, as these individuals experience many of the risk factors associated with loneliness. This experience of loneliness tends to lead to numerous consequences such as negative self-evaluations, anxiety, and depression, which in turn lead to impaired concentration and a decline in academic motivation and performance. The overarching aims of this study were to identify the predictor variable(s) or combination of predictor variables, namely self-esteem, interpersonal communication competence, and media and technology usage, that explain a significant percentage of the variance in loneliness amongst undergraduate university students, as well as to investigate whether differences exist in loneliness with regards to gender, ethnicity, and generational status. The sample consisted of 1,191 South African undergraduate university students between the ages of 18 and 30. This study was non-experimental in nature and a correlational research design was used. The results indicated that the combination of the independent (predictor) variables accounted for 51.9% of the variance in the Loneliness scores of the sample. Interpersonal Communication Competence and Self-esteem served as statistically and practically significant individual predictor variables of the students’ loneliness. Male students and first-generation students tend to be lonelier than female students and non-first-generation students, respectively.

Pastoral care for Gender-based violence affected South African University students

Gender-based violence is a widespread type of human rights violation that frequently takes place in academic environments like schools and universities. The prevalence of genderbased violence (GBV) among university students is shockingly high. Many survivors of campus sexual abuse experience academic difficulties in addition to the emotional and psychological impacts of the assault, which in some cases may necessitate them taking a leave of absence or even dropping out of school altogether. Many students entering South African HEIs would have already been exposed to or experienced violence because of South Africa's alarmingly high rate of sexual assault against children. GBV in Universities, has many causal factors, including age, societal norms, masculinity, and social media. This paper utilized secondary data as a methodology to collect data. This paper proposes that universities combine the assistance of psychologists and pastoral caregivers in the healing of those affected by GBV, because people who have experienced GBV may benefit from pastoral counselling in focusing their attention on finding purpose and meaning in their lives despite adversity.

A Quantitative Inquiry into South African Undergraduate University Students’ Perceptions of Religiously Sanctioned Homophobia

The paper investigates the factors that inform university undergraduate students’ perceptions of religiously sanctioned homophobia. Data was drawn from a quantitative survey conducted in 2017 on students’ perceptions of social norms, heteronormativity, and homophobia at a South African urban-based university. A total of 330 undergraduate students completed the survey. The study found statistically significant correlations between the factors of sex, degree of religiosity and family socialization and the undergraduate students’ perceptions of religiously sanctioned homophobia. Male students demonstrated more support for religiously sanctioned homophobia than did female students. Students with a higher degree of religiosity were more likely to support statements that enforced homophobia than did students with a lower degree of religiosity. Students who had been socialized in homophobic families were more likely to support religiously sanctioned homophobia than were students who had grown up in more tolerant families. The study did not find statistically significant correlations between the factors of frequency of exposure to religious services and place of origin and the undergraduate students’ perceptions of religiously sanctioned homophobia. The paper makes a substantive contribution to the limited South African studies that focus on the broader student population’s perceptions of religiously sanctioned homophobia.

A framework for antecedents of social entrepreneurial intention: Empirical evidence and research agenda.

Social entrepreneurship (SE) increasingly contributes to diversity in entrepreneurship. The different approaches to SE suggest a variety of antecedents which drive individuals' intention to become social entrepreneurs. While this variety of antecedents is insightful, it also creates a need for systemisation and prioritization. We address this need by introducing an integrative, multi-level framework for person-based antecedents of SE-intention. Based on this multi-level framework the antecedents are grouped on three theoretical levels which refer to an individual's (1) personality, (2) cognition, and (3) entrepreneurial exposition. When testing our framework with 499 South African University students we find support for the multi-level framework and its notion that antecedents from the diverse levels complement each other. Therefore, this study provides a structure for person-based antecedents of SE-intention and additionally points to future research which may extend the proposed framework.

South African University Staff and Students’ Perspectives, Preferences, and Drivers of Hesitancy Regarding COVID-19 Vaccines: A Multi-Methods Study

COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy poses a threat to the success of vaccination programmes currently being implemented. Concerns regarding vaccine effectiveness and vaccine-related adverse events are potential barriers to vaccination; however, it remains unclear whether tailored messaging and vaccination programmes can influence uptake. Understanding the preferences of key groups, including students, could guide the implementation of youth-targeted COVID-19 vaccination programmes, ensuring optimal uptake. This study examined university staff and students’ perspectives, preferences, and drivers of hesitancy regarding COVID-19 vaccines. A multi-methods approach was used—an online convenience sample survey and discrete choice experiment (DCE)—targeting staff and students at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The survey and DCE were available for staff and students, and data were collected from 18 November to 24 December 2021. The survey captured demographic characteristics as well as attitudes and perspectives of COVID-19 and available vaccines using modified Likert rating questions adapted from previously used tools. The DCE was embedded within the survey tool and varied critical COVID-19 vaccine programme characteristics to calculate relative utilities (preferences) and determine trade-offs. A total of 1836 staff and students participated in the study (541 staff, 1262 students, 33 undisclosed). A total of 1145 (62%) respondents reported that they had been vaccinated against COVID-19. Vaccination against COVID-19 was less prevalent among students compared with staff (79% of staff vs. 57% of students). The vaccine’s effectiveness (22%), and its safety (21%), ranked as the two dominant reasons for not getting vaccinated. These concerns were also evident from the DCE, with staff and students being significantly influenced by vaccine effectiveness, with participants preferring highly effective vaccines (90% effective) as compared with those listed as being 70% or 50% effective (β = −3.72, 95% CI = −4.39 to −3.04); this characteristic had the strongest effect on preferences of any attribute. The frequency of vaccination doses was also found to have a significant effect on preferences with participants deriving less utility from choice alternatives requiring two initial vaccine doses compared with one dose (β = −1.00, 95% CI = −1.42 to −0.58) or annual boosters compared with none (β = −2.35, 95% CI = −2.85 to −1.86). Notably, an incentive of ZAR 350 (USD 23.28) did have a positive utility (β = 1.14, 95% CI = 0.76 to 1.53) as compared with no incentive. Given the slow take-up of vaccination among youth in South Africa, this study offers valuable insights into the factors that drive hesitancy among this population. Concerns have been raised around the safety and effectiveness of vaccines, although there remains a predilection for efficient services. Respondents were not enthusiastic about the prospect of having to take boosters, and this has played out in the roll-out data. Financial incentives may increase both the uptake of the initial dose of vaccines and see a more favourable response to subsequent boosters. Universities should consider tailored messaging regarding vaccine effectiveness and facilitate access to vaccines, to align services with the stated preferences of staff and students.

Psychometric properties of the South African Career Interest Inventory – Short

Background: The South African Career Interest Inventory – Short (SACII-Short) is used in research settings to measure Holland’s six interest factors. Conclusions reached in studies using the instrument are subject to the measurement properties of the SACII-Short items and scales.Objective: This study aimed to investigate the psychometric properties of the SACII-Short items and the fit of circumplex structure to the SACII-Short item and scale scores.Method: Secondary data from South African university students and working adults (n = 673) were used. The graded response model was used to investigate the measurement properties of the items. Factor analysis was used to investigate the circumplex structure of the item and scale scores.Results: Most of the SACII-Short items showed satisfactory measurement properties. Some concerns were observed with the item locations of the realistic and social items. The item and scale scores showed satisfactory fit to circumplex structure. The wording of some of the items could be reconsidered to increase the applicability of the content to the South African work context.Conclusion: The SACII-Short demonstrates satisfactory psychometric properties for use in research settings. These psychometric properties support the validity of results obtained from studies that have used the SACII-Short scale scores as a proxy for vocational interests.