An examination of the career decision-making self-efficacy of final-year nursing students

BACKGROUND

One in four newly graduated registered nurses leave their employment positions within the first year. To reduce this attrition, nursing stakeholders could focus on the final year of nursing education because students at this stage make professional career plans, including their practice destination for the graduate year and their commitment to the profession. Previous studies provide evidence of nursing students' career preferences and specialty choices. However, there is a dearth of data that focuses on the students' career decision-making process.

AIM

This study examined the self-efficacy or confidence of final-year nursing students in making career decisions and the factors that influence their career decision-making process.

SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS

Final year pre-registration nursing students (N = 222) at two public universities in Western Australia.

METHODS

An online survey was used to collect cross-sectional data. The Career Decision Self-Efficacy Scale - Short Form was used to investigate nursing students' confidence in making career decisions. Career decision-making self-efficacy refers to the confidence to successfully complete career decision-making tasks. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the participants' characteristics. The chi-square test was used to assess the significance of the difference between categorical data, and binary logistic regression was used to determine the odds of the factors that predict career decision self-efficacy.

RESULTS

Forty-seven percent of participants who answered all Career Decision Self-Efficacy Scale - Short Form questions had good confidence in making career decisions. Factors such as the setting of the final clinical placement, the intention to be employed in the specialisation or organisation of their final placement and the students' assessment of their clinical experience were associated with career decision-making confidence.

CONCLUSIONS

Most participants had low confidence in making career decisions. This study provides ideas for nursing stakeholders to implement measures to improve students' confidence to make informed career decisions.

Understanding transitions in exploration profiles of students opting for higher education

Introduction

Since previous research on educational career exploration has mainly been cross-sectional and therefore has been unsuccessful in explaining how this process can change during the final year in secondary education before students make the transition to higher education, this study aimed to examine changes over time in the exploration process. A person-centered research perspective was taken to further deepen the understanding of how different exploration tasks jointly combine into meaningful profiles. In this way, this study tried to gain more insight into why some students go through this process successfully and others do not. Four goals guided this study: identifying exploration profiles of students in Fall and Spring of the final year in secondary school based on four decisional tasks (orientation, self-, broad and in-depth exploration), investigating transitions between exploration profiles across these two timepoints, and examining the role which different antecedents (i.e., academic self-efficacy, academic self-concept, motivation, test anxiety, gender, educational track, socio-economic status) play in explaining both profile membership and transitions between profiles.

Methods

Using self-report questionnaires to measure the exploration tasks and the antecedents in final year students, two cross-sectional samples collected in Fall (n = 9,567) and Spring (n = 7,254), and one longitudinal sample (n = 672) were examined.

Results

Latent profile analyses identified three exploration profiles at both timepoints: passive, moderately active, and highly active explorers. Latent transition analysis showed the moderately active explorers profile to be the most stable profile, while the passive profile was the most variable profile. Academic self-concept, motivation, test anxiety, and gender had an effect on the initial states, while motivation and test anxiety affected the transition probabilities. For both academic self-concept and motivation, students scoring higher were found to be less present in the passive or the moderately active than in the highly active profile. Furthermore, compared to students who remained in the passive profile, higher levels of motivation were associated with a higher probability to transition to the moderately active profile. Next to that, compared to students who remained in the highly active profile, higher levels of motivation were associated with a lower probability to transition to the moderately active profile. Results on anxiety were inconsistent.

Discussion

Based on substantial cross-sectional as well as longitudinal data, our findings contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the explanatory base of important differences in the study choice making process of students opting for higher education. This may ultimately lead to more timely and fitting support for students with different exploration profiles.

How Career Exploration Affects Employment Outcomes: A Two-Wave Study Among Young Chinese Adults

Drawing on social cognitive career theory (SCCT) and trait activation theory, this study investigated how and when career exploration affects career outcomes in early adulthood with an integrated conceptual framework. Data came from a two-wave survey of young Chinese adults ( N = 239). This study examined a serial mediation model in which career exploration related to career satisfaction and person-job fit via career success criteria clarity (CSCC) and career decision making self-efficacy (CDSE) sequentially. Results showed, as expected, that more career exploration was related to higher career satisfaction and better person-job fit via higher career success criteria clarity and CDSE. In addition, results indicated that the indirect effect of career exploration on career outcomes becomes stronger when family socioeconomic status is lower. The current research provided insights into the underlying mechanisms between career exploration and career outcomes and the findings offered practical implications for both career educators and consultants.

The impact of career-related parental behaviors on career decision-making self-efficacy and ambivalence-A latent growth model

INTRODUCTION

The current study investigated the developmental trajectory of adolescents' career decision-making self-efficacy (self-efficacy) and ambivalence in career decision-making (ambivalence) as well as the longitudinal impact of career-related parental behaviors (parental behaviors) on self-efficacy and self-efficacy on ambivalence.

METHODS

We recruited 588 students from two elementary schools and three middle schools from city of Guangzhou, Province Guangdong in China. Participants were from Grade 4 to Grade 9 with an average age of 11.88 (SD = 1.63), 321 (54.6%) were male, and 9 (1.53%) were missing for gender. We applied a latent growth model using data from all three waves.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSION

After applying a latent growth model using data from all three waves, the results have indicated that self-efficacy decreased as these participants transitioned from childhood to early adolescence, and that their ambivalence fell on an increasing trajectory. Cross-sectionally, it indicated that "support" of parental behaviors was positively associated with self-efficacy, and "interference" of parental behaviors was positively associated with ambivalence. Longitudinally, "interference" of parental behaviors was negatively predicting the change rate of self-efficacy. A predictive relation did not exist between self-efficacy and ambivalence, such that a negative correlation was observed on a cross-sectional level. Implications and limitations are discussed as well.

Career Exploration and Career Decision Self-Efficacy in Northwest Chinese Pre-service Kindergarten Teachers: The Mediating Role of Work Volition and Career Adaptability

Studies have documented that career exploration is significantly associated with CDSE, but how this association occurred is not clear yet. This study committed to clarifying the mechanism underlying the relationship between career exploration and CDSE by investigating the mediation effect of work volition and career adaptability among 586 pre-service kindergarten teachers. The participants are recruited from Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region in northwest China, covering Han, Hui, and other minorities. They took part in a two-wave (6 months apart) longitudinal survey and reported on their career exploration at T1, work volition, career adaptability, and career decision self-efficacy (CDSE) at T2. Results showed that T1 career exploration is directly related to the T2 CDSE. Further, career exploration contributed to the CDSE through both the separated mediation path and the chained mediation path of T2 work volition and T2 career adaptability. The results suggest that individuals who engage in more career exploration activities are likely to have more confidence in their abilities to make career decisions over time, which was partially and serially explained by individuals’ perception of capacity despite constraints and greater self-regulatory strength. This study is a first attempt to deeply clarify the link between career exploration and CDSE, and the findings shed light on the independent and serial mediating effects of work volition and career adaptability. The implications and limitations are discussed.

Habilidades sociais e expectativas de futuro como preditores da autoeficácia para a escolha profissional

Durante o ensino médio, os estudantes podem enfrentar as primeiras escolhas relacionadas ao seu futuro profissional. O estudo investigou em que medida o sexo, as habilidades sociais e as expectativas de futuro predizem a autoeficácia para a escolha profissional de estudantes do ensino médio. Participaram 436 alunos (M = 16,23 anos, DP = 1,09), de ambos os sexos, de escolas públicas e privadas do estado do Rio de Janeiro. Os instrumentos utilizados foram: Escala de Autoeficácia para a Escolha Profissional; Escala de Expectativas Futuras; Inventário de Habilidades Sociais para Adolescentes; e Questionário de Dados Socioeconômicos. As habilidades sociais de desenvoltura social e abordagem afetiva, as expectativas de futuro em relação ao trabalho e à educação e o sexo feminino explicaram 26% da variabilidade da autoeficácia para a escolha profissional dos estudantes. Os dados da pesquisa poderão contribuir para o planejamento de futuros programas de intervenção com os alunos, seus familiares e professores.

How Do Students Become Good Workers? Investigating the Impact of Gender and School on the Relationship between Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy and Career Exploration

In the field of vocational psychology, career decision-making self-efficacy (CDMSE) and career exploration (CE) are considered the crucial factors for developing a sustainable career. This study investigated the relationship between CDMSE and CE among Chinese high-school students, as well as the moderating effects of gender and school. From 2019 to 2021, 24,273 students from 13 different high schools were recruited in the study (male = 15,050, female = 9223; urban schools = 12,327, rural schools = 11,946). The results showed that (i) male students scored significantly higher than female students in both CDMSE and CE, (ii) students from urban schools scored significantly higher than students from rural schools in both CDMSE and CE, (iii) CDMSE positively predicted CE, and (iv) school moderated the relationship between CDMSE and CE, with the effect of CDMSE on CE stronger among rural school students; a moderating effect of gender was not found. These findings indicate that promoting CDMSE can lead high-school students, especially rural school students, to engage more in CE to ensure sustainable career development under the protean and boundaryless career orientation.

Career self-efficacy and education abroad: implications for future global workforce

Purpose

This study aims to explore how career self-efficacy shapes an individual’s career decisions and how learning and development interventions, including participation in education abroad, might play a role in career choice.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors used the following databases to review the literature on career self-efficacy: Academic Search Premier, Education Resources Information Center and ProQuest. The following key search terms were used in the search: career self-efficacy, career choice and education abroad. The titles of the identified articles were first reviewed for relevance, followed by the abstract, before further review for inclusion suitability.

Findings

Findings suggest career self-efficacy plays a vital role in career decision-making, generating interests and deciding career goals. By improving career self-efficacy among college students, career interests can be reshaped. Findings evidence a relationship between education abroad and career competencies and career development.

Research limitations/implications

The review offers an invaluable pathway to breed ideas and thoughts about research in the career self-efficacy domain. While education abroad itself may be a useful intervention in the development of a student’s career self-efficacy, among other characteristics and skills, a further empirical study is necessary to determine the extent to which this is true. Using or creating an accurate scale for the measurement of career self-efficacy among undergraduate students is critical to determine a reliable and valid measure, as is controlling for potential differences in self-efficacy between students who self-select for high impact endeavors such as education abroad and those who do not.

Practical implications

Noting that practices in international education support collaboration between career services offices and study abroad offices, the authors point to the importance of interventions that intentionally and explicitly incorporate the career self-efficacy construct.

Originality/value

Findings evidence a relationship between education abroad and career competencies and career development, through research examining connections to career self-efficacy and education abroad is noticeably scarce. The paper explores the above relationship.

Career-Specific Parenting Practices and Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy Among Chinese Adolescents: The Interactive Effects of Parenting Practices and the Mediating Role of Autonomy

This study examined the unique and interactive effects of various career-specific parenting practices (i.e., parental career support, interference, and lack of engagement) on Chinese high school students’ career decision-making self-efficacy (CDSE) as well as the mediating role of autonomy in such associations. Based on data from 641 Chinese high school students (47.6% male; mean age = 15.28 years old, SD = 0.49) in 2016, two moderated mediating effects were identified. Higher level of parental career engagement strengthened the positive association between parental career support and adolescents’ autonomy, which in turn, was associated positively with adolescents’ CDSE. Parental career interference related negatively with adolescents’ CDSE via autonomy when lack of parental career engagement was low, but related positively with adolescents’ CDSE via autonomy when lack of parental career engagement was high. These findings advance our understanding of the underlying processes between career-specific parenting practices and adolescents’ CDSE. Implications for practices were discussed.

Reciprocal Associations Between Career Self-Efficacy and Vocational Identity: A Three-Wave Longitudinal Study

We examined the changes in career decision-making self-efficacy (CDSE) and vocational identity (VI) and their reciprocal associations among 1,026 senior high school students, comprising 493 from Hong Kong (age in 10th grade: M = 16.31, SD = 0.65; 238 girls) and 533 from Shanghai (age in 10th grade: M = 16.50, SD = 0.56; 237 girls). They completed measures for assessing their CDSE and VI annually from 10th to 12th grades. Latent growth curve analyses indicated that both CDSE and VI significantly increased over time in the Hong Kong sample. Cross-lagged path analyses indicated that the reciprocal positive effects between CDSE and VI over time were supported in both samples. These findings indicated that CDSE and VI are generally dynamic and interrelated dimensions for Chinese adolescents’ career development with some regional differences.

Agency and responsibility in adolescent students: A challenge for the societies of tomorrow

BACKGROUND

The literature in educational psychology converges on the idea that students should take an active and accountable position in their learning processes. Nevertheless, there is still a lack of research that has systematically put the constructs of agency and responsibility at the core of their interests.

AIMS

In this study, we explore whether good experiences at school - here conceptualized as the general level of basic needs fulfilment and interpersonal justice - impact on student agency and responsibility, which in turn are considered as possible mediators between a good educational experience and two outcome measures, that is, academic achievement and career decision-making self-efficacy.

PARTICIPANTS

The study was held on a sample of 911 high school students equally distributed between males and females.

METHOD

Data were collected through the use of a questionnaire comprising six measures assessing students' basic psychological need fulfilment, interpersonal justice, agentic engagement, responsibility for learning, academic achievement, and career decision-making self-efficacy.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS

Structural equation modelling indicated that basic needs fulfilment positively predicts agency, responsibility, academic achievement, and career decision-making self-efficacy. Interpersonal justice positively predicts responsibility. The indirect effect from basic psychological needs on career decision-making self-efficacy through the mediating effects of student agentic engagement and student responsibility was significant. The indirect effect from interpersonal justice on career decision-making self-efficacy through the mediating effect of student responsibility for learning was significant. These results are commented at the light of their implications for teacher practices, as they emphasize the importance of good experiences at school for promoting in students an active civic sense and a greater accountability.