Predictors of perceived satisfaction with subject selection of grade 10 learners in the Free State province, South Africa: A quantitative analysis

In light of South Africa’s high unemployment rate and restoration of past inequalities, the pivotal role of career guidance is increasingly highlighted to facilitate the match between supply and demand factors in the labour market. This paper examines predictors of the perceived subject satisfaction of 430 Grade 10 learners from 7 secondary schools in the Free State province as an extension to understanding prospective career choice processes. By underscoring the role of Life Orientation and its component of career education, a regression analysis was done to determine the variance in overall subject satisfaction as influenced by service delivery, overall knowledge of career path, personal confidence and the completion of personality inventories (as a moderating variable influencing personal confidence). Pearson’s correlation coefficient was used to explore the relationship between the before mentioned variables. The dimensions knowledge of career path and personal confidence were most associated with subject satisfaction, while the completion of personality inventories and service delivery show the weakest relationship.