Factors influencing career choice of tertiary students in Ghana

2018 ◽  
Vol 60 (9) ◽  
pp. 992-1008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Godfred M.Y. Owusu ◽  
Anthony Essel-Anderson ◽  
Teddy Ossei Kwakye ◽  
Rita Amoah Bekoe ◽  
Charles Gyamfi Ofori
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Career Choice ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Career Choices ◽  
Tertiary Education ◽  
Business Students ◽  
Intrinsic Value ◽  
Survey Method ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Attractive Option

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors that influence Ghanaian tertiary students’ career choices. The paper explores the dimensionality of the career choice factors within the Ghanaian context and also ascertains their degree of influence on students’ career choices. Design/methodology/approach The study employs survey method of research and a set of questionnaire was used to examine the factors that influence students’ career choices. A total of 354 undergraduate students from the Ashesi University College in Ghana participated in the study. Factor analysis was conducted on the career choice factors and differences in response between science and business students were ascertained by means of independent sample t-test. Findings The findings of this study indicate that university students in Ghana place much premium on intrinsic value and employability/financial prospect in their career choice decisions than such factors as prestige and desired working conditions. Research limitations/implications The findings of this study are relevant for policymakers and tertiary education providers interested in making the study of science an attractive option for university students in Ghana. Originality/value The findings of this paper highlight some of the underlining reasons for the unpopularity of the study of sciences among university students in Ghana.

Work–life balance among working university students in Ghana

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 525-537 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward Nartey Tetteh ◽  
Esther Julia Korkor Attiogbe
Keyword(s):  
Academic Performance ◽  
University Students ◽  
Tertiary Education ◽  
Critical Phenomenon ◽  
Critical Mass ◽  
Survey Method ◽  
Academic Institutions ◽  
Work Requirements ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Working Students

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore how working university students in Ghana are able to combine work and study, and the effect of this on their academic performance.Design/methodology/approachAn exploratory survey method is used to collect data from 360 working students randomly selected from four universities in Accra, Ghana. The study employs the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient (r2) to test two hypotheses and both are affirmed by the results.FindingsIt is found that combining schooling with work results in less time for studies which negatively affects academic performance. Again, difficulty in finding time for studies due to work requirements ranks the highest, and finally, students receive slightly better support from their academic institutions than from their employers.Research limitations/implicationsThe study focussed only on perspectives from working students in Ghana. The dimension of employers and officials of academic institutions was not investigated.Practical implicationsThe findings imply that to achieve sustainable development in the tertiary education sector and even in industry, all stakeholders – universities, policymakers, employers, students, etc. – must find practical ways to assist these students to combine work and study.Originality/valueThe study bridges the empirical gap of this critical phenomenon in the Ghanaian context. It will inform government and corporate policy on higher-level skill development among the workforce, and also tertiary institutions on how to address the needs of the critical mass of working students.

scholarly journals University students' preference regarding social media content, internet usage and online friendship patterns

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 239-249
Author(s):  
Asma Butt
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Survey Method ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Online Friendship ◽  
The University

PurposeThis study aimed to find out the web content accessed by university students and to compare the level of interaction with real-life friends and online friends.Design/methodology/approachIn this study, the quantitative research design used, and the researcher collected data through the survey method. The population comprises all undergraduate students at the University of the Punjab, Lahore. The sample of 320 students, age ranges from 18 to 22 years from eight selected departments, collected through a simple random sampling technique and after extraction 284 questionnaires evaluated by using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS).FindingsThe findings of the study showed that students preferred activities on the Internet is to access social networking sites. Additionally, the mobile phone is the most commonly used device among university students to access the Internet. Furthermore, students mostly used Facebook to keep in touch with their old friends and talk on different topics more easily with their online friends as compared to real-life friends. The study also shows that the results of both the hypothesis are significant; therefore, no difference exists regarding time spent on the Internet in real-life friendship patterns and online friendship patterns.Originality/valueThe research was used to find out the difference between the online friendship and real-life friendship patterns of the two groups who use the Internet for less time and who spend more time on the Internet among the university students.

Raising the next generation of public servants? Parental influence on volunteering behavior and public service career aspirations

2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (5) ◽  
pp. 840-858 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justin M. Stritch ◽  
Robert K Christensen
Keyword(s):  
Social Learning ◽  
Career Choice ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Public Service ◽  
Parental Influence ◽  
Career Choices ◽  
Career Aspirations ◽  
Large Body ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Impact

Purpose – While there is a large body of literature examining the effect public service motivation (PSM) has on both an individual’s career and volunteering decisions, the effects of social learning and parental influences on both volunteerism and selection into public service are relatively unexplored. The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between parental volunteering and career choice, PSM, and the volunteering behaviors and career choices of their adult children. Design/methodology/approach – The authors examine data collected from first-year undergraduate students at a large, public university in the southeastern USA to examine, the impact of parents in the development of public service behaviors like volunteering and career choice. Findings – The authors find that parental influence matters in shaping voluntary behavior and career aspirations, but that this social learning is distinct by gender. Originality/value – The authors are unaware of work that directly focusses on parents’ volunteering and career choices, after controlling for PSM, on both the volunteering and public service career decisions of their children.

Entrepreneurial intentions of university students: a case-based study

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (03) ◽  
pp. 393-413 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramo Palalić ◽  
Veland Ramadani ◽  
Arnela Ðilović ◽  
Alina Dizdarević ◽  
Vanessa Ratten
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Entrepreneurial Intentions ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Survey Method ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Entrepreneurial Experience

Purpose This study aims to examine the entrepreneurial intentions of university students at the International University of Sarajevo. For this purpose, the entrepreneurial desires and entrepreneurial orientations of the students across several demographic variables were measured. These variables included prior entrepreneurial experience, student’s gender, faculty, year of study and attitude towards more courses on entrepreneurship. Nevertheless, the research also examined how business environment influences the entrepreneurial intentions of students by considering the same set of variables. Design/methodology/approach The objectives of this paper have been achieved by using a quantitative research instrument, where the cross-sectional survey method for collecting primary data is used. In total, 173 usable responses have been collected from the beginning of April to the end of May in the academic year 2015/2016. Findings The results indicate that the greater the demotivation with the current business surrounding, the smaller the entrepreneurial intentions of the students are when the prior entrepreneurial experience, gender, year of study and attitude towards more courses on entrepreneurship are considered. The study suggests that improving the overall business surrounding and entrepreneurial education might increase the entrepreneurial intentions of the students. Originality/value This is the first paper that treats entrepreneurial intentions of University students in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

scholarly journals The effect of psychological and contextual factors on the entrepreneurial intention of university students in South Africa

2015 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 1297-1303 ◽  
Author(s):  
Obey Dzomonda ◽  
Olawale Fatoki ◽  
Olabanji Oni
Keyword(s):  
Gender Difference ◽  
University Students ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Business Students ◽  
Contextual Factors ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Entrepreneurial Intention ◽  
Study Data ◽  
High Level

This study focused on investigating the factors that affect the entrepreneurial intention of final year undergraduate students at a South African university. It aimed to achieve the following objectives, (1) to assess the entrepreneurial intention of final year university students, (2) to investigate the effect of psychological and contextual factors on entrepreneurial intention of final year university students and (3) to examine if there is a gender difference in the effect of psychological and contextual factors on entrepreneurial intention of final year university students. The study examined the effect of psychological and contextual factors on the entrepreneurial intention of final year undergraduate students. The study used the quantitative research method with a descriptive research design. 140 students participated in the survey and data was collected through the use of self-administered questionnaire in a survey. The participants in the study were final year undergraduate business management students. The convenience sampling technique was used in the study. Data analysis included descriptive statistics and the T-test. The results indicated that business students have a high level of entrepreneurial intention. Both psychological and contextual factors positively impact on entrepreneurial intention. There is no significant gender difference. Recommendations to improve the entrepreneurial intention of students are suggested.

Internship impact on career consideration among business students

2016 ◽  
Vol 58 (9) ◽  
pp. 1003-1013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miriam Rothman ◽  
Ruth Sisman
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Job Search ◽  
Business Students ◽  
Career Path ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Non Profit ◽  
Job Functions ◽  
Analysis Methodology ◽  
The Cost ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to report on the impact of the internship experience on business students’ career intentions in regard to pursuing a career path in the same job function or industry as their internship. Design/methodology/approach After completing and reflecting on an internship, 198 undergraduate students responded to the prompt: “discuss the impact of the internship on your career consideration.” Responses were analyzed using a content analysis methodology in order to determine whether or not interns would pursue the same job functions (e.g. sales) or industry (e.g. non-profit) as their internship in their post-graduation job search. Findings Across the job functions and industries identified within the internships, 54 and 45 percent of interns confirmed their expectations of career fit, respectively. The implications of confirming and disconfirming these expectations for students are discussed. Originality/value Given the value of internships to business students, surprisingly few studies have examined their influence on undergraduates’ career considerations. Students select internships with the intention of learning about job functions or industries for possible career fit, yet the authors know little about whether the experience confirms or disconfirms their expectations. This study seeks to address this gap. The authors suggest that internships, as experiential activities, merit greater attention as they provide students opportunities to learn what they do or do not want to do, where they do or do not want to work and whether their self-concept fits a possible career path – saving themselves and potential employers the cost of job dissatisfaction and turnover.

Personality, belief in a just world, and attitudes toward criminal responsibility defenses: a preliminary study

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Robyn Mooney
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
Mental Disorder ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Criminal Responsibility ◽  
Business Students ◽  
Social Dominance Orientation ◽  
Dark Triad ◽  
Just World ◽  
Voir Dire ◽  
Content Type

Purpose In Canada, if it can be proven that a defendant was suffering from a mental disorder at the time they committed an offense, they can be found Not Criminally Responsible on Account of Mental Disorder (NCRMD). These cases are often decided by jury. The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of the dark triad (DT), social dominance orientation (SDO) and belief in a just world (BJW) on undergraduate students’ attitudes toward the NCRMD defense. Design/methodology/approach A total of 421 undergraduate students completed questionnaires measuring SDO and the DT. After being primed for high, low or neutral BJW, they indicated their attitudes toward NCRMD. Findings The BJW manipulation had no effect on attitudes. High-SDO/DT participants held less favorable attitudes toward NCRMD than participants who scored low on these variables, F(1, 420)=20.65, p<0.01, η p 2 = 0.05 . Psychology and criminology students had significantly more favorable attitudes toward NCRMD than business students. Practical implications This study can be helpful in improving jury impartiality in trials involving mental illness and criminal responsibility; assessment of SDO and the DT; awareness of career roles relating to insanity defense bias; and improving the voir dire process. Originality/value The results of this study may be used to improve the voir dire process in trials involving the issue of mental illness and criminal responsibility and to preserve the impartiality of the jurors selected for these trials.

Adoption of social networking sites for educational use

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Godfred Matthew Yaw Owusu ◽  
Rita Amoah Bekoe ◽  
Dorothea Sekyiwa Otoo ◽  
Akua Pokuaa Essah Koli
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Social Networking ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
Ease Of Use ◽  
Perceived Usefulness ◽  
Survey Method ◽  
Perceived Ease Of Use ◽  
School Students ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Respondent Group

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the views of university students on social networking sites (SNSs) adoption for educational purposes and investigate the factors that motivate students to use SNSs for academic purposes.Design/methodology/approachA survey method of research was adopted and questionnaires were administered to the respondent group. A total of 522 valid responses from the University of Ghana Business School Students were used in the empirical analysis. Regression analysis was used to examine the relationship among the key constructs of the study.FindingsThe results of this study suggest that perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, the existence of facilitating conditions and the purposes of SNSs are the key factors that motivate students to adopt SNSs for academic purposes. However, the influence of other people in society and the desire to be identified with social groups were found not to be important predictors of SNSs use by students for educational purposes.Research limitations/implicationsThe data examined in this study are based on sample responses from only one university, which may limit the extent of generalization of the findings.Originality/valueThis paper provides some useful insights into the key predictors of SNSs adoption for educational use by university students from the perspective of a developing country.

Money attitudes survey of business students in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 228-246
Author(s):  
Urmatbek M. Tynaliev ◽  
Carolyn Erdener
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
English Language ◽  
Business Students ◽  
Business Organizations ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Money Attitudes ◽  
Nation States ◽  
Central Asian ◽  
Love Of Money ◽  
Former Ussr

Purpose The purpose of this study is to analyze the money attitudes among students at English-language business schools in the transitioning Central Asian nations of the former USSR, namely, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. Design/methodology/approach The survey was carried out in 2017, using previously established measures of Love of Money survey questionnaire. Over 300 undergraduate students in English-language business degree programs in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan participated in the survey. A few hypotheses were tested using three-way MANOVA to test the influence of three factors (country, gender and student years). In addition, post hoc analysis, and one- and two-way ANOVA methods were used for multiple comparisons. Findings The results showed evidence of increasing convergence among students who are farther along in the program. Some statistically significant differences were also found, mainly in regard to gender differences in money attitudes across countries and student levels. The results of statistical analysis suggest a need for further research on attitudes and values related to money in the modern nation states of Central Asia. Originality/value This study is one of first attempts to study the values and attitudes regarding money among the first generation of business students who were born and grew up after their respective countries gained independence. The findings imply the development of a relatively homogeneous labor pool for business organizations across regions that are characterized by increasing differentiation among countries within the region.

Attitudes toward cheating among business students at a private Kenyan university

2019 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Rosario Catacutan
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Student Behavior ◽  
Business Students ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Ethics Instruction ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
The One ◽  
Attitudes Toward Cheating ◽  
Ethics Courses ◽  
One Way Anova

Purpose This study aims to investigate attitudes toward cheating among business students at a private university in Kenya and examine if a significant difference exists in cheating perceptions among students who have completed one or two ethics courses, and those who have done none. Design/methodology/approach A total of 554 undergraduate business students participated in this research. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and the one-way ANOVA. Findings The results found that students perceived cheating in exam-related situations as quite serious, while cheating on written assignments was not considered a serious offence. Results of the one-way ANOVA indicate that there was a significant difference in the cheating perceptions ratings for the three groups. Post hoc comparisons using the Tukey HSD test indicate that the mean score for students who have done two ethics courses was significantly different from that of students who have done only one ethics course. Practical implications This study has a number of implications for educators and administrators. Ethics instruction cannot achieve its desired effect on student behavior without institutional support. Administrators also need to be cognizant of the influence that school environment has on student cheating. Faculty and university administrators can influence students’ behavior in the way they practice academic integrity in their teaching and administrative functions. Originality/value To the best of the author’s knowledge, this research is the first study to explore academic cheating at a private Kenyan university where ethics instruction is taught to undergraduate students.

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