The Role of Individual Effort in Poverty Attribution: Insights from Ghanaian Students

Abstract

In this paper, the attribution for poverty has been investigated by surveying 147 marketing students from Sunyani Polytechnic. These students were selected through a convenience sampling method, allowing the researchers to gather data from a readily available group of participants. The study is exploratory in nature, using a quantitative survey to collect primary data. A self-designed questionnaire was utilized as the primary tool for data collection, and the responses were subsequently analyzed using SPSS 16.0 software. To interpret the data, the study employed percentages and frequencies to provide descriptive statistics, along with One-Way ANOVA to assess the significance of any differences within the sample population. The combination of these methods provides an in-depth look into the students' perceptions and attributions related to poverty, offering insights into their understanding of the underlying causes. By using an exploratory approach, the study aims to generate preliminary findings that can pave the way for further research in the area of poverty attribution among students, particularly in a developing country context like Ghana. The statistical techniques applied allow for a clear presentation of the findings, ensuring that any significant patterns or correlations within the data are identified and discussed. The results of the study indicated that the individual perspective of poverty attribution was the most dominant explanation among the participants, compared to structural and fatalistic viewpoints. This suggests that the students primarily believe that poverty is a result of personal factors such as effort and responsibility, rather than external factors like societal structures or fate. It was further revealed that a significant majority of the respondents held the view that success largely depends on individual effort, and that work is seen as a valuable contribution to society. Given these findings, future research should aim to increase the sample size to improve the generalizability of the results and provide a more comprehensive understanding of poverty attributions. Additionally, future studies should explore the relationship between educational levels and perceptions of poverty, as education may play a crucial role in shaping how individuals understand and attribute the causes of poverty. Investigating these aspects could offer deeper insights into how different groups perceive the issue and may provide important implications for education and policy interventions aimed at poverty reduction.