The influence of financial literacy and financial technology on the financial behaviour of high school teachers in KwaZulu-Natal

Abstract

The argument that many people make financial decisions that are not in their best interest cannot be disputed. In using financial technology, there are both advantages and disadvantages. One disadvantage is that making irresponsible financial decisions has become easier since information is readily available to people, leading to a lot more debt. On the other hand, it can also make it easier for people to save more money, depending on their financial literacy level. Due to financial literacy, people are better able to make wise financial decisions and are more likely to save more money for the future. The Basic Education Department in South Africa is faced with a crisis of teachers leaving their profession prematurely. Some of the reasons cited for teachers’ resignations include the search for pension pay-outs that would redeem them from indebtedness. Teachers' mass resignations create a serious problem in the education system that not only compromises the quality of education, but also increases recruitment, training and development costs. Moreover, South Africa is facing this crisis at a time when there is a lack of qualified, experienced and competent teachers in critical subjects such as Mathematics, Science, and Technology. To determine the influence of financial literacy and financial technology on the financial behaviour of high school teachers in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), this study employed a quantitative research approach. Data was collected from 246 high school teachers in Msunduzi Municipality KZN using a self-administered questionnaire. Several hypotheses were formulated and tested using regression analysis. The study revealed that most of the high school teachers in Msunduzi Municipality had sound financial management knowledge which enabled them to mitigate and navigate financial literacy challenges. However, maintaining or sticking to a planned budget and finding solutions when facing financial challenges were problems mentioned by the teachers. Nevertheless, most of the teachers demonstrated that they had good debt management skills and financial management and planning skills which helped them to draft monthly budgets and keeping track of expenses. Additionally, the teachers indicated that they had a good grasp of financial technology services, but also indicated that their knowledge of financial technology made it easier for them to access and spend the money; this led to poor savings and negative financial behaviour Furthermore, despite the convenience that financial technology services offer, they also highlighted the security risks of using this technology such as the possibility of being hacked or defrauded online by scammers. As this study used a quantitative research approach, it is suggested that another study should be conducted using a mixed methodology, which would help to expand the corpus of knowledge in this area.