The current study examined predictors of undergraduate science students’ intentions to attend graduate school and participate in undergraduate research. We used social cognitive career theory to test our hypothesized model using a sample ( N = 411) of life science and physical science majors and examined basic interests in these disciplines as mediating variables. Among life science majors, results of structural equation modeling indicated that microbiology interest mediated the relationship between scientific self-efficacy (SSE) and graduate education intentions (GEIs) and the latter variable also mediated the relationship between microbiology interest and undergraduate research intentions (URIs). The model for physical science majors did not provide a good fit to the data, therefore path coefficients associated with this model were not interpreted. Implications for counseling interventions based on patterns of career intention formation in the life and physical sciences are discussed.
Consideration of learning orientations as an application of achievement goals in evaluating life science majors in introductory physics
