Gender differences in locus of control and student performance in the South African context of accounting studies

2015 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 348-368 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Callaghan ◽  
Elmarie Papageorgiou
Keyword(s):  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Locus Of Control ◽  
Student Performance ◽  
South African ◽  
Statistical Testing ◽  
Male Students ◽  
Accounting Students ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Fine Grained ◽  
Accounting Student

Purpose – This paper aims to test the theory that predicts differences in locus of control (LOC) by gender and the relationships between LOC and the performance of accounting students in a large South African university. Design/methodology/approach – Confirmatory factor analysis was applied to test the applicability of Spector’s (1988) LOC scales as a first-order construct in this context. An exploratory factor analysis was then performed to provide a more fine-grained analysis of subordinate constructs. Three component categories were found to emerge from a test of this widely used LOC questionnaire. These component categories were classified as beliefs about the effectiveness of agency, beliefs about chance and beliefs about networks in the contribution to the attainment of outcomes in working contexts. Findings – Further tests revealed that female accounting students demonstrate higher LOC in all the three categories. Females were therefore found to have significantly higher levels of both LOC and student performance; yet, the majority of tested items were not significant in their associations, and total LOC was not found to be associated with higher performance for female or male students. Certain individual items were, however, found to be associated with performance for male students. It is concluded that despite the predictions of seminal theory that predicts convergence around gender, or more egalitarian outcomes in high-skilled contexts over time, accounting student performance in this context might currently be dominated by females. This reflects a current general dominance of females in higher educational attainment and in employment numbers in educational contexts. Research limitations/implications – Limitations of the study include: first, the use of a single university; second, a sample of only first-year accounting students. It is not known whether these findings generalise beyond accounting students with similar university environments. This research is also not causal in nature. The statistical testing used in this study cannot indicate causality. Originality/value – It is recommended that further research investigate the more fine-grained dimensions of LOC that can contribute to accounting student performance and that further qualitative or causal research is performed to “surface” the causal mechanisms that underlie these findings. The value of this research is in the fact that it tests theory that predicts differences in LOC and the relationships between LOC and performance in an important formative context of accounting.

ANALISIS KOMPARASI PERILAKU ETIS MAHASISWA AKUNTANSI STIE SAKTI ALAM KERINCI DENGAN STIE SUMATERA BARAT DAN FAKTOR-FAKTOR YANG MEMPENGARUHINYA

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 91
Author(s):  
Elex Sarmigi
Keyword(s):  
Locus Of Control ◽  
Ethical Behavior ◽  
Female Students ◽  
Equity Sensitivity ◽  
Male Students ◽  
Accounting Students ◽  
External Locus ◽  
Internal Locus ◽  
Internal Locus Of Control ◽  
Control Factors

<p><em>This study aims to see the comparison of ethical behavior of accounting students of STIE Sakti Alam Kerinci with accounting students of STIE Sumatera Barat. This study will also look at the comparative ethical behavior between male students and female students as well as the ethical behavior of individuals who have internal locus of control factors with individuals who have external locus of control factors separately from each college. In addition, this study will also look at the effects of equity sensitivity (X<sub>1</sub>) and culture (X<sub>2</sub>)</em> <em>on the ethical behavior of accounting students. This study uses primary data collected by using questionnaires. The method of testing the comparative hypothesis in this study is T-test, then multiple linear regression is used to analyze the influence of equity sensitivity (X1) and culture (X2) on ethical behavior (Y).</em><em> </em><em>This study found that (1) the accounting students of STIE Sumatera Barat have more ethical behavior than accounting students of STIE Sakti Alam Kerinci, (2) there are no differences of ethical behavior among male students and female students of STIE Sakti Alam Kerinci as well as STIE Sumatera Barat, (3a) The accounting students of STIE Sakti Alam Kerinci have internal locus of control factors has more ethical behavior than accounting student have external locus of control factors, (3b) there is no difference of ethical behavior among accounting students of STIE Sumatera Barat based on locus of control factors, (4a) Equity sensitivity and culture affect the ethical behavior of accounting students of STIE Sakti Alam Kerinci, (4b) equity sensitivity affects the ethical behavior of accounting students of STIE Sumatera Barat, but culture does not affect the ethical behavior of accounting students of STIE Sumatera Barat.</em><em></em></p><p> </p><p>Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk melihat komparasi perilaku etis mahasiswa akuntansi STIE Sakti Alam Kerinci dengan mahasiswa akuntansi STIE Sumatera Barat. Penelitian ini melihat komparasi perilaku etis antara mahasiswa dengan mahasiswi akuntansi serta perilaku etis individu yang memiliki faktor internal <em>locus of control</em> dengan individu yang memiliki faktor eksternal <em>locus of control</em> secara terpisah dari masing-masing perguruan tinggi. Selain itu, penelitian ini juga melihat pengaruh dari <em>equity sensitivity</em> (X<sub>1</sub>) dan budaya (X<sub>2</sub>) terhadap perilaku etis mahasiswa akuntansi. Penelitian ini menggunakan data primer yang dikumpulkan dengan menggunakan kuesioner. Metode pengujian hipotesis komparatif dalam penelitian ini adalah T-<em>test</em>, kemudian regresi linear berganda digunakan untuk menganalisa pengaruh <em>equity sensitivity </em>(X<sub>1</sub>) dan budaya (X<sub>2</sub>) terhadap perilaku etis (Y). Penelitian ini menemukan bahwa (1) mahasiswa akuntansi STIE Sumatera Barat memiliki perilaku yang lebih etis dibandingkan mahasiswa akuntansi STIE Sakti Alam Kerinci, (2) tidak terdapat perbedaan perilaku etis antara mahasiswa dan mahasiswi akuntansi STIE Sakti Alam Kerinci maupun STIE Sumatera Barat, (3a) mahasiswa akuntansi STIE Sakti Alam Kerinci yang memiliki faktor  internal<em> locus of control </em>memiliki perilaku lebih etis dibandingkan mahasiswa akuntansi yang memiliki faktor eksternal<em> locus of control, </em>(3b) tidak terdapat perbedaan perilaku etis antara mahasiswa akuntansi STIE Sumatera Barat berdasarkan faktor<em> locus of control</em>, (4a) <em>equity sensitivity</em> dan budaya mempengaruhi perilaku etis mahasiswa akuntansi STIE Sakti Alam Kerinci, (4b) <em>equity sensitivity</em> mempengaruhi perilaku etis mahasiswa akuntansi STIE Sumatera Barat</p>

Differences in accounting students’ perceptions of their development of professional skills

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-59
Author(s):  
Marina Kirstein ◽  
Stephen Coetzee ◽  
Astrid Schmulian
Keyword(s):  
Focus Group ◽  
Differentiated Instruction ◽  
South African ◽  
White Students ◽  
Accounting Students ◽  
Professional Skills ◽  
African Students ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Language Groups ◽  
History Of

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore differences in South African accounting students’ perceptions of professional skills developed in an undergraduate accounting program. South Africa has a history of socio-economic inequality and racial injustice, leading to factors outside the classroom impacting educational outcomes. In particular, South African classes are heterogeneous, reflecting a diversity of race and language groups and students from differing schooling backgrounds. These differences necessitate differentiated instruction. Design/methodology/approach To explore for differences in perceptions, data were collected via questionnaires and differences between demographic variables such as school, race and language were considered, while controlling for gender. A focus group was also hosted to further explore findings. Findings Students from better quality schools agreed less strongly than those from poorer quality schools that the education program developed their professional skills. Students from better quality schools may have developed some of the professional skills during their schooling, requiring less to be developed at university. African students, though, agreed less strongly than white students from similar quality schools that they had developed professional skills. A focus group suggested that African students place less emphasis on professional skills development than on technical skills, given their lack of exposure to professional skills through mentors (parents, teachers, etc.) who never developed professional skills during their own compromised education under Apartheid. Originality/value Understanding the differences in the perceptions of professional skill development in a heterogeneous classroom can assist instructors in adopting differentiated instruction approaches to enable all students to develop professional skills. It could also assist future employers of these graduates to differentiate their development strategies during workplace training.

The 3-S typology of South African culinary festival visitors

2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (6) ◽  
pp. 1560-1579 ◽  
Author(s):  
Armand Viljoen ◽  
Martinette Kruger ◽  
Melville Saayman
Keyword(s):  
Cluster Analysis ◽  
Factor Analysis ◽  
South African ◽  
Market Segmentation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
African Context ◽  
Three Stages ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
General Profile ◽  
Structured Questionnaire

Purpose This paper aims to identify and cluster visitors to a premier South African cheese festival based on their motivation for attending the festival. Design/methodology/approach A structured questionnaire was used to collect the data from visitors over the three days of the festival, in which 519 usable questionnaires were included in the analysis. Three stages of the analysis were employed: a factor analysis examining the visitors’ motivation to attend the festival, a cluster analysis based on the motives identified by the factor analysis and an analysis of significant differences between the different market segments. Findings The general profile of respondents was similar to the profile of culinary tourists found in other studies. Furthermore, five key motives were identified, of which this combination has not been previously identified in the literature. The cluster analysis identified three distinct clusters, with heterogeneous behavioural and socio-demographic profile identifiers. Practical implications The value that this market segmentation technique holds regarding the marketing and branding of a(n) event/festival is that it could help managers/marketers to promote better culinary events/festivals in South Africa, by offering unique attributes that attract culinary visitors. Originality/value To the authors’ knowledge, this study is a first attempt to segment culinary visitors based on motivational factors, especially within the South African context. Clustering based on motives proved to be a useful market segmentation tool and proposes a 3-S typology of visitors to food-related events/festivals, namely, social, serious and selective epicureans.

scholarly journals Individualiteit, kollektiwiteit en lokus van beheer as mikroveranderlikes van diversiteit

1996 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
H. S. Rieger ◽  
C. J. H. Blignaut
Keyword(s):  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Locus Of Control ◽  
South African ◽  
Item Analysis ◽  
South African Context ◽  
Internal Locus Of Control ◽  
Two Factors ◽  
African Context ◽  
Positive Correlations ◽  
Reliability Coefficients

Individuality, collectivity and locus of control as micro variables of diversity. The principal aim of the study was to construct an instrument to measure individuality and collectivity as micro variables of diversity in the South African context. The Individuality-collectivity Inventory was applied to 326 university students. A factor analysis on 80 items yielded two factors. These factors were interpreted as collectivity and individuality. The two scales were subjected to an item analysis and yielded reliability coefficients of 0,86 and 0,910. A secondary aim of the study was to determine whether any correlation exists between individuality, collectivity and locus of control. The two sub-scales of the Individuality-collectivity Inventory were correlated with the three sub-scales of the Locus of Control Inventory. Statistically significant positive correlations were found to exist between individuality, internal locus of control and autonomy. The implications of the findings on the management of diversity are discussed. Opsomming Die hoofdoel van die studie was om 'n instrument vir die meting van die konstrukte individualiteit en kollektiwiteit as mikroveranderlikes van diversiteit in die Suid-Afrikaanse konteks daar te stel. Die Individualiteit-kollektiwiteitskaal is op 326 universiteitstudente toegepas. 'n Faktorontleding op 80 items het twee faktore tot gevolg gehad/ naamlik Individualiteit en Kollektiwiteit. Die twee skale is vervolgens aan 'n itemontleding onderwerp en betroubaarhede van 0,86 en 0,910 is onderskeidelik opgelewer. 'n Sekondere doelwit van die studie was om te bepaal of daar 'n verband tussen individualiteit, kollektiwiteit en lokus van beheer bestaan. Die twee sub-skale van die Individualiteitkollektiwiteitskaal is met die drie sub-skale van die Lokus van Beheer-vraelys gekorreleer. Statisties beduidende positiewe korrelasies bestaan tussen individualiteit, interne lokus van beheer en outonomie. Die implikasies van die bevindinge vir die bestuur van diversiteit word bespreek.

Cross-Cultural Locus of Control Studies: Experiment and Critique

1980 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrian Furnham ◽  
John Henry
Keyword(s):  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Locus Of Control ◽  
South African ◽  
Factor Structure ◽  
Sex Education ◽  
Living Conditions ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Control Scale ◽  
Language Competence ◽  
Population Groups

Over 30 cross-cultural locus of control studies were reviewed which yielded inconsistent findings. It is argued that this plethora of cross-cultural studies have neglected to match population groups sufficiently carefully and to consider the multidimensional nature of the concept, locus of control. The Rotter Locus of Control Scale was administered to three groups of South African nurses (African, European, Indian) who were carefully matched in terms of age, sex, education, occupation, homogeneity, living conditions and language competence, and considered to be functionally equivalent. Although no significant differences were found between the scores on these three groups, a factor analysis of each group's results indicated a different factor structure emerged for each group.

The impact of discussion board usage on overall performance in an introductory accounting subject

2016 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 337-358 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdel K. Halabi ◽  
Jo-ann Larkins
Keyword(s):  
Student Performance ◽  
Discussion Board ◽  
Accounting Education ◽  
Accounting Students ◽  
Teaching Staff ◽  
First Year ◽  
Discussion Boards ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Student Background ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The aim of this paper is to examine the academic performances of first-year accounting students using a discussion board. Design/methodology/approach The paper develops a model to determine the impact of discussion board usage on overall student performance. A number of variables are controlled for including academic aptitude, previous accounting experience, gender and student background. Included in the model are diagnostic information indicators of student use of the discussion board, obtained from the Web-based learning environment tracking reports. Findings The multiple regression analysis shows a positive benefit in terms of greater marks for students who post on the discussion board compared to those who do not post, even after controlling for academic ability. Research limitations/implications The improved knowledge construction gained by actively using discussion boards may be used by teaching staff to promote greater student acceptance and voluntary participation in discussion boards resulting in more interaction and possibly higher academic achievement. Originality/value While technology and WBLEs have been well accepted in accounting education, and are widely used (Watson et al., 2007), the introduction of discussion boards has resulted in a dearth of research on their use and effectiveness. In-depth accounting educational literature reviews (Apostolou et al., 2013, 2010; Watson et al., 2007; Watson et al., 2003; Rebele et al., 1998) have reported very few studies on discussion boards over three decades.

Measuring shared cultural characteristics in Malaysia: scale development and validation

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 246-264 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hassan Abu Bakar ◽  
Stacey L. Connaughton
Keyword(s):  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Cultural Values ◽  
Affective Commitment ◽  
Emerging Market ◽  
Future Orientation ◽  
Cultural Dimensions ◽  
Statistical Testing ◽  
Cultural Characteristics ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Community Embeddedness

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to assess statistically the shared cultural values scale that incorporates Malaysia’s multi-ethnic cultural values. Design/methodology/approach This study involved three phase statistical testing. In the first phase, the authors evaluated the 152 items for the affiliation, community embeddedness, respecting elders, harmony, faith, brotherhood, morality, future orientation, conformity and survival cultural dimensions with a sample of 270 employees from three organizations. In the second phase, 355 employees from two organizations completed a survey test-retest reliability and a factor analysis consisting of community embeddedness, focus on respect, conformity and future orientation as a four-factors solution with 22 items. Confirmatory factor analysis based on data from 310 employees in two organizations verified that the four dimensions correlated with affective commitment. Findings The results suggest that shared cultural characteristics is a multidimensional construct and at the individual level makes a unique contribution in explaining employees’ affective commitment. Managers from multinational corporations operating in this emerging market will benefit from this new scale because they can use it to identify specific individual cultural characteristics within their organization and develop a strategy to target employees’ affective commitment. Originality/value The new shared cultural characteristics scale for Malaysia’s multi-ethnic society demonstrates adequate reliability, validity and across-organization generalizability for this specific cross-cultural communication setting.

Female accounting students and their academic performance: evidence from Kuwait

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 662-672
Author(s):  
Khalid A. Alanzi
Keyword(s):  
Academic Performance ◽  
Accounting Education ◽  
Male Students ◽  
Accounting Students ◽  
Least Squares Regression ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Business Studies ◽  
College Of Business ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This study aims to compare the academic performance of female accounting students with their male counterparts and to assess the impact and association between gender and the academic performance of accounting students graduating from the College of Business Studies (CBS) in Kuwait. Design/methodology/approach The sample consisted of 141 accounting students, who graduated during 2015 from CBS. Independent samples test, correlation and linear least squares regression analyses tested the hypotheses. Findings The results indicate that there was a statistically significant association between gender and accounting students’ performance, which explained the superiority of the performance of the female students’ group over the performance of the male students’ group and explained the significant impact of gender on accounting students’ performance, with and without controls for other factors. Practical implications The findings have practical implications for how the administration of CBS and similar educational institutions should take action. The findings suggest that the administration of CBS should adopt policies that impose and encourage the acceptance of more female accounting students, as they perform well in accounting and their academic performance is better than their male counterparts. Originality/value The study makes significant contributions to the existing knowledge in the area of students’ performance by empirically supporting the theoretical expectation of the impact of gender on accounting students’ performance. It provides a foundation for future comparative studies, potentially leading to the harmonization of international accounting education. It also addresses some of the shortfalls in the existing regional accounting education literature resulting from the scarcity of prior studies, where little has been published.

The moderator effect of financial literacy on the relationship between locus of control and financial behavior

Kybernetes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ümmühan Mutlu ◽  
Gökhan Özer
Keyword(s):  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Locus Of Control ◽  
Financial Literacy ◽  
Financial Behavior ◽  
Individual Investors ◽  
Moderator Effect ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Internal Locus ◽  
Internal Locus Of Control ◽  
The Relationship

PurposeThis study examines the effects of variables such as financial literacy and locus of control on the financial behavior of individual investors. Additionally, this article aims to reveal the moderator effect of financial literacy on locus of control and financial behavior.Design/methodology/approachResponses were collected from a questionnaire given to a convenience sample of 1,347 individual investors. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA), which reveals the factor structure of the scale, was used at the beginning of the study, and then confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed to confirm this new factor structure. Hypothetical relationships were examined using structural equation modeling.FindingsThe study provides statistical support for the validity and reliability of the scales. The statistical results of the analysis reveal that financial literacy and locus of control have a positive effect on financial behavior. Moreover, the authors prove that financial literacy changes the relationship between internal locus of control and financial behavior. In conclusion, financial literacy plays a significant role as a moderator variable that interacts with locus of control.Originality/valueThe findings of the research are important in demonstrating empirical evidence for the theoretical correlations. In support of the current literature, this study has confirmed the positive effects of internal locus of control and financial literacy on the financial behavior of individual investors. In addition, it has been determined that the relationship between an individual's financial behavior and internal locus of control varies according to their level of financial literacy.

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