Mauritian and south African students' views on studying psychology

The study sought to examine students' views regarding their study of Psychology at a South African (SA) and Mauritian university, including their views on its relevance to their social contexts. A total of 254 students (males = 48, females = 206; age range = 17–50 years) responded to a short questionnaire on their decision to study Psychology, how they learned about the profession, their views on its relevance to their social contexts, and its usefulness in their health care system. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data, and χ2 tests of significance were applied. A significantly higher proportion of Mauritian students planned to become Psychologists, whereas a greater proportion of the SA students elected to become social workers. Among those wanting to become Psychologists significantly more of the SA students than the Mauritian students chose clinical psychology over the other categories. Significantly more Mauritian students than SA students learned about Psychology from the media, than all other sources combined. About two-thirds of the participants considered psychology relevant to their social context, or useful in their health care systems. © 2008 Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.