Faculty of Humanities (ETDs)

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How are the relationships between South African universities and development understood?
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2021) Molebatsi, Palesa Malehlohonolo; Allais, Stephanie Matseleng
Many development scholars argue that universities can and should address societal problems of poverty, inequality and unemployment. There is international literature that argues, in particular, two things: firstly, that certain economies thrive because they are knowledge driven; and secondly, that universities play a central role in preparing workers for the labour market. That same literature also goes on to argue that under-developed countries should emulate these economies, because this is a good way of achieving development. Thus, an increasing number of researchers and policy-makers in South Africa are interested in how universities do today, and can in the future, contribute to development. Empirical studies have been conducted analysing the relationship between South African universities and development. Yet, the evidence that exists, while useful, remains superficial. Specifically, it gives partial or incomplete analyses of the dynamics underlying the relationships between universities in South Africa, and development. The purpose of this study is to build an understanding of those dynamics. I develop an extended analytic framework with three ideal types (The Abstract University, the Entrepreneurial University and the Developmental University) and analyse two data sets, with the main finding that South African universities do not make significant entrepreneurial or developmental contributions to development. Simultaneously, they are expected to perform more welfare activities as part of their functions. I argue that a Welfare ideal-type university is emerging in South Africa which seems to undermine the essential core of the university: the development and acquisition of knowledge. A floundering can be observed with respect to the purpose, the norms and the form of the university in South Africa, with the result that the role of universities is increasingly loosely defined. This analysis illuminates a specific aspect of the relationship between universities and development in South Africa, namely that it is a two-way one: different approaches to development nationally and within universities lead to changes in the nature of the university, which in turn affects development. In the case of South Africa, where emphasis is placed on welfare activities, the question arises whether universities will continue to be universities in the future
Investigating the ways in which educational credentials influence employers’ hiring decisions
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023-07) Sekokope, Abram Sello; Shalem, Yael; Allais, Stephanie Matseleng
There is a strong link between formal education and results on the labor market, like employment and earning potential, according to a wealth of research. Academic credentials are frequently seen as a doorway into mainstream economic engagement on a global scale, which justifies corporate and public investment in higher education. What is not always evident are the interpretations that companies give to educational credentials in particular settings, such as hiring decisions, and what these meanings reveal about the recruiting criteria of employers for potential employees. The purpose of this study was to comprehend the significance that employers place on qualifications and how this significance affects the hiring processes. In order to do this, the study looked at the hiring of engineers at two different occupational levels at four South African State-Owned Companies. To ascertain the meanings that employers attach to qualifications when screening CVs for engineering positions, a descriptive phenomenological technique was taken into consideration and enhanced with the use of hypothetical CVs. Three theoretical viewpoints were used as the foundation for this study in order to comprehend employer opinions of what qualifications actually mean. They were the credentialism theory, the screening and signalling theories, and the human capital theory. According to the study, ownership of a qualification gave an individual a competitive edge in the labor market and was viewed as a main selection criterion from all three theoretical viewpoints. Main findings: The selection criteria for the two engineering positions at the two distinct levels were compared in this study. First, the results imply that the recruiting standards for a Junior Manager Mechanical Engineering post and an Electrical Engineering Technician, a lesser entry-level role, differ significantly. I discovered that the primary distinction between the two was the importance of qualifications in the hiring process for lower entry-level positions. The findings indicate that at this level, employers view qualifications as the main criterion for choosing the best applicant for the position because they believe they provide a sufficient indication of the knowledge and skills needed to perform the work. According to the statistics, individuals with the most relevant credentials and those who earned high marks in their degrees and certifications were seen as having a greater understanding of the subject matter of their credentials and were therefore given preference during the hiring process. This result appears to support the human capital theory's assertion that qualifications represent knowledge and abilities because it substantially aligns with its underlying premises. Secondly, I found that, when it came to the management role, candidates' qualifications were not taken into account in isolation but rather coupled with additional credentials, such as prior work experience. In reality, I discovered that in this area, job experience was valued equally to or even more than qualifications when hiring at management levels. For instance, it seemed that companies would prefer to go with someone with work experience in some situations, such as when the minimal qualification criteria was not entirely completed. Although the focus of my study was on qualifications, some of the companies made a strong case for the value of prior job experience, sometimes at the price of qualifications. While this does not go against the principle of human capital, it does imply that job experience may be viewed as a more valuable indicator of applicable human capital than qualifications for management roles. Finally, I discovered that job experience was essential for the development of soft skills like problem solving, teamwork, communication, and leadership, among others. According to the statistics, these talents can be developed over time with the proper amount of work experience, mentoring, and coaching. Fourth, I discovered that the relationship between work experience and qualifications was complex and complementary, and that worker productivity was not a function of qualifications alone. According to study findings, companies would enrol recent graduates in WIL programs largely to supplement their education with relevant work experience, which would help them grow and maximize their productivity. Finally, I discovered that employers believed all schools were regulated and followed the same national standards of teaching and learning, thus they did not consider institutional reputation when choosing qualified applicants. This also resonates more with the human capital idea rather than the credentialism theory, which provides a social closure perspective, and assumes that the more prestigious universities are associated with better quality graduates. My interpretation of the aforementioned five key findings leads me to believe that employers primarily view qualifications as stand-ins for the actual knowledge and abilities needed to do the job. However, even when they were not just relying on qualifications, they still looked for qualities like job experience and soft skills, which are all referred to in literature as examples of human capital. These results strongly imply that the human capital theory is more important in explaining and influencing hiring decisions for engineering candidates. Human capital theory appears to have replaced qualifications as the predominate mechanism for explaining employment choices in the engineering sector, despite a few modest hints that qualifications served as a sort of screening function. In a discipline like engineering, where the body of knowledge is very closely correlated to the job that needs to be done, this makes sense.