scholarly journals Students Attitudes Surrounding STEM: A Social Cognitive Career Theory Instrument for High School

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
EmilyKate McDonough ◽  
Kayle S Sawyer ◽  
Jessica Wilks ◽  
Berri Jacque

To meet the demand of the growing science and health sectors in the United States, there is a critical necessity to engage more people in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). To broaden participation in STEM, we must understand the factors that shape perspectives and beliefs around career selection. Good measurement of these factors is crucial to quantify how effectively educational interventions impact student attitudes towards STEM. Adolescents are particularly suited for quantifying intervention efficacy because students build their identities during these formative years and make important career choices. To better quantify intervention efficacy at the high school level, we developed an instrument entitled Student Attitudes Surrounding STEM (SASS), which builds upon the social cognitive career theory (SCCT) framework for understanding career selection. Questionnaire responses were collected from 932 high school students, and split into samples of 400 for exploratory factor analysis and 532 for confirmatory factor analysis. The questions clustered into six factors: self-efficacy experience, self-efficacy academic, outcome expectations, interests, negative perceptions of scientists, and career awareness. The SASS exhibited adequate construct validity as determined by fit indices and theoretical considerations. Furthermore, the instrument demonstrated criterion validity, internal consistency, and test-retest reliability. This tool represents a novel integration of three latent variables into SCCT, negative perceptions of scientists, career awareness, and an experience factor for self-efficacy.

2004 ◽  
Vol 94 (2) ◽  
pp. 694-696 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark C. Eaton ◽  
Mark B. Watson ◽  
Cheryl D. Foxcroft ◽  
Wendy Patton

Social cognitive career theory suggests that males and females may not differ in career decision-making self-efficacy, but this statement requires extension of research to high school samples. The Career Decision-making Self-efficacy Scale–Short Form was administered to white South African high school students in Grades 9 to 11, of whom 368 were boys and 494 girls. No significant sex differences were found, suggesting that career interventions based on social cognitive career theory in high school need not be sex-specific in content.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lexis Alexander Tetteh ◽  
Cletus Agyenim-Boateng ◽  
Amoako Kwarteng ◽  
Paul Muda ◽  
Prince Sunu

PurposeThe study uses social cognitive career theory (SCCT) to explore the driving and restraining factors that students consider in selecting auditing as a career.Design/methodology/approachConsidering the aim of this study, a qualitative research was preferred with the objective of gathering in-depth and enriched empirical data; hence, semi-structured interviews were conducted with seventy-five fourth-year undergraduate accounting students of six top-ranked universities in Ghana that offer accounting programmes.FindingsThe findings of the current study unearth the constructs of the SCCT that students' decision to consider a career in audit is driven by outcome expectations (high earnings/monetary incentives and social prestige associated with the job), as well as self-efficacy belief (possession of ethical values). Further, the study finds that self-efficacy beliefs (job stress and accounting stereotype) were the factors restraining students from considering auditing as a career. The results finally show that the students who would choose auditing as a career in future are in one way or the other, preparing for the achievement of their goals.Research limitations/implicationsThe SCCT framework utilized focuses on the three main constructs: self-efficacy, outcome expectations and goals. There are a number of related factors that may influence students' career choice decisions. These may include personal characteristics and contextual influences; a change of the theoretical framework may help discover other important personal and contextual factors that this current study could not unearth.Practical implicationsThe study indicates, on the contrary, that students have negative perceptions about auditing as a career option; they consider the career as stressful, tedious and monotonous. These misconceptions make it less likely for a student to pursue auditing as a career. Educators can aid students in their decision to pursue a study in accounting and become auditors by displaying and reinforcing the positive outcomes that come with the position of an auditor.Originality/valueThe findings of this study add to the existing literature by delving deeper into the self-selection factors that influence a student's desire to become an auditor. Furthermore, the current research is exceptional in that it applies the SCCT to the aim of becoming an auditor. Although other research studies have looked into factors that may influence a student's decision to pursue a profession as an accountant, these studies have mostly been quantitative, limiting the students' ability to explain why those factors encourage or dissuade them.


2020 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 169-179
Author(s):  
Yen K. Pham ◽  
Kara A. Hirano ◽  
Lauren Lindstrom ◽  
David S. DeGarmo

Young women with disabilities face multiple barriers that limit their career pathways. Little research has been conducted to examine how cognitive constructs of career self-efficacy and outcome expectations contribute to their future aspirations. This study examined direct relationships between career self-efficacy and outcome expectations on future aspirations, mediating effects of autonomy and self-realization on these relationships, and moderating effects of mental health on these links for young women with disabilities. Although existing research on social cognitive career theory has focused on career self-efficacy, results from this study indicated that outcome expectations might have an even stronger influence on future aspirations. Mental health barriers negatively impact future aspirations of the study’s sample. Limitations and implications for research and practice were discussed.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 212
Author(s):  
Dede Kurnia ◽  
Muhammad Ngasifudin

ABSTRACTThis study aims to determine and analyze the mediating effect of entrepreneurial outcome expectations and entrepreneurial attitude on the influence of entrepreneurial self-efficacy on entrepreneurial intention. This study uses a quantitative approach with explanatory survey methods. The data collection tool in this study uses a questionnaire. In contrast, in determining the number of samples, this study applied convenience sampling so as obtain 75 young people in district Sukaresik, Tasikmalaya. The analysis technique carried out in this study was regression-based Serial Multiple Mediators using Macro Process software developed by Andrew F. Hayes. The result showed that entrepreneurial self-efficacy to entrepreneurial intention has a direct influence. In addition, entrepreneurial outcome expectations and entrepreneurial attitudes also serially mediate the effect of entrepreneurial self-efficacy on entrepreneurial intentions. The originality of this research is the adaptation of Social Cognitive Career Theory into entrepreneurial intention research which is still relatively rare. This research has a theoretical contribution to research on entrepreneurial intentions, which is still dominated by the theory of planned behavior developed by Icek Ajzen.JEL : M20, A22, I20.Keywords : entrepreneurial outcome expectations, entrepreneurial attitude, entrepreneurial intention. ABSTRAKPenelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui serta menganalisis efek mediasi harapan hasil kewirausahaan dan sikap kewirausahaan pada pengaruh efikasi diri kewirausahaan terhadap intensi wirausaha. Penelitian ini menggunakan pendekatan kuantitatif dengan metode survei eksplanotori. Adapun alat pengumpulan data penelitian ini menggunakan kuesioner, sedangkan dalam proses penentuan sampel penelitian ini menerapkan teknik convenience sampling sehingga didapatkan 75 orang pemuda di Kecamatan Sukaresik Kabupaten Tasikmalaya. Teknik analisis data yang dilakukan pada penelitian ini Analisis Mediasi Serial Berbasis Pendekatan Regresi dengan menggunakan Software Macro PROCESS yang dikembangkan oleh Andrew F. Hayes. Hasil temuan ini menunjukkan bahwa efikasi diri kewirausahaan berpengaruh secara langsung terhadap intensi wirausaha, selain itu harapan hasil kewirausahaan dan sikap kewirausahaan juga secara serial memediasi pengaruh efikasi diri kewirausahaan terhadap intensi wirausaha. Orisinalitas dari penelitian ini adalah adaptasi Social Cognitive Career Theory ke dalam riset intensi wirausaha yang masih relatif jarang dilakukan. Penelitian ini memiliki kontribusi teoretis dalam riset-riset intensi kewirausahaan yang selama ini masih didominasi oleh theory planned behavior yang dikembangkan oleh Icek Ajzen.


2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 655-675
Author(s):  
San Bolkan ◽  
William C. Pedersen ◽  
Kaitlyn N. Stormes ◽  
Beth Manke

In this study, we investigated how environmental, cognitive, and demographic variables influenced students’ ability to graduate from a 4-year university in 4 years. Specifically, we examined how behaviors related to social cognitive career theory (i.e., self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and academic goals) were influenced by contextual experiences related to prescriptive academic advising to ultimately predict students’ ability to graduate in 4 years. After holding students’ demographic characteristics constant, results from structural regression analyses indicated that prescriptive advising had a direct effect on students’ 4-year graduation rates. In addition, prescriptive advising had indirect effects on students’ 4-year graduation rates through its impact on students’ self-efficacy and the serial path involving students’ self-efficacy and their academic goals. Our results suggest that if institutions want to ensure they maximize 4-year graduation rates, helping students understand that it is possible to graduate in 4 years is critical.


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