The modification, elaboration and empirical evaluation of the De Goede learning potential structural model through the incorporation of non-cognitive learning competency potential latent variables

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: People are often referred to in a Human Resource Development context as the organisation‟s most important resource in recognition of the important knowledge and learning they bring to the organisation (Bierema & Eraut, 2004). South African organisations experience a shortage of this valuable and important resource due to the country‟s social political past which was led by the Apartheid system. South Africa today still suffers from the consequences of the history of racial discrimination which was lead by the Apartheid system. This system was one of legal racial segregation enforced by the National Party government of South Africa between 1948 and 1993 and it deprived the majority of South Africans of the opportunity to develop and accumulate human capital. South Africa‟s past has thus left the previously disadvantaged group members with underdeveloped competency potential, as opposed to the not previously disadvantaged group members, and this has subsequently led to adverse impact in valid, fair (in the Cleary sense of the term) strict-top-down selection. This underdeveloped competency potential prohibits these individuals from succeeding in the world of work. Because of the importance of labour it is crucial that the South African labour force be developed to reach its full potential.Adverse impact in personnel selection refers to the situation where a selection strategy affords members of a specific group a lower probability of being selected compared to members of another group (Boeyens, 1989). There thus lies a vast reservoir of untapped human potential in this country, and a method to identify these individuals is required. The fact that adverse impact is created during personnel selection does not necessarily mean that selection procedures are responsible for the adverse impact. Adopting a problem orientation involves using careful analysis to identify the root causes of a problem (Bierema & Eraut, 2004). In South Africa an intellectually honest solution to the problem of adverse impact would be to provide development opportunities, rather than searching for an alternative selection instrument, to those individuals who have been denied opportunities in the past in order to develop skills, abilities and coping strategies necessary for job performance. This does not imply that affirmative action should be abolished; it rather suggests that the focus of this corrective policy should shift towards a more developmental approach. More emphasis should be placed on providing the previously disadvantaged with the necessary training and development to foster the necessary competency potential to succeed in the world of work. Affirmative developmental opportunities will entail giving previously disadvantaged individuals access to skills development and educational opportunities aimed at equipping them with the currently deficit skills and knowledge. A need exists to identify individuals who will gain maximum benefit from these developmental opportunities and who display the highest potential to learn, as resources for such developmental programmes are scarce. Attempts at accelerated affirmative development will be effective to the extent to which there exists a comprehensive understanding of the factors underlying training performance and the manner in which they combine to determine learning performance (De Goede & Theron, 2010). De Goede (2007) has already conducted a study to identify such individuals. Selection alone, although important and necessary, is not sufficient to ensure successful affirmative development interventions. Additional interventions are required, post-selection, to ensure success. The primary objectives of this study are consequently to build onto De Goede‟s (2007) foundations and it is therefore necessary to describe De Goede‟s (2007) model, explain its underlying argument, report on the fit of his proposed structural model and also to report on the findings regarding the specific causal relationships which he proposed. De Goede‟s (2007) existing learning potential structural model was expanded with the inclusion of additional non-cognitive variables in order to gain a deeper understanding of the complexity underlying learning and the determinants of learning performance. The hypothesised learning potential structural model was empirically tested and evaluated and achieved good close fit. Modification indices calculated as part of the structural equation modelling suggested a specific addition to the existing model that would improve the fit. One modification was subsequently made to the model after the consideration of the full range of fit indices, standardised residuals, modification indices and parameter estimates. No paths were removed. This decision was taken because the path-specific hypotheses that were tested referred to the specific paths when they were included in the specific model. Deleting insignificant paths from the model would therefore change the original hypotheses. The final revised structural model achieved good fit.The limitations of the research methodology, the practical implications of this study, and recommendations for future research are also discussed.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University