The generation mechanism underlying the career decision-making difficulties faced by undergraduates in China during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative study based on SCCT theory

As COVID-19 continues to spread worldwide, the record number of graduates in China and pressure resulting from the economic downturn have led to low confidence in employment among college students, and the difficulties associated with career decision-making have gradually developed into a psychological barrier to the successful employment of Chinese college students. Using the "purposive sampling" approach to qualitative research, this study selected 20 undergraduates exhibiting delayed employment from a university as our research sample and used the career self-management model of social cognitive career theory (SCCT) as an analytical framework to conduct semistructured interviews with the aim of exploring influencing factors associated with and generation mechanism underlying the career decision-making difficulties experienced by Chinese undergraduates during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the career self-management model of SCCT theory, the four variables of individual, parents, peers and social environment influence Chinese undergraduates' career decision-making difficulties. On this basis, this study proposes a multivariable and single-subject generation mechanism to explain undergraduates' career decision-making difficulties and tries to explicate the mental changes associated with the career decision-making difficulties encountered by undergraduates exhibiting delayed employment by reference to mind sponge theory.

Attracting adolescents to become doctors and nurses: differential importance of personal and environmental factors in 61 economies

BACKGROUND

Doctors and nurses play a fundamental role in maintaining global health systems and achieving universal health care coverage. However, significant shortages persist, and little is known about the popularity of these careers among young people in various economies or the relative impact of personal inputs and contextual factors.

METHODS

Using data from the large-scale Programme of International Student Assessment (PISA) 2018, we showed the recent distribution of adolescents' medical (doctor) and nursing career expectations in 61 economies. With multilevel logistic and hierarchical linear regression, we examined the relative importance of economic indicators, health work conditions, and personal background factors in affecting adolescents' health career expectations.

RESULTS

Approximately 11% of adolescents expected to be doctors in each economy, while only 2% expected to be nurses. Adolescents were attracted to health professions mainly by system-level favourable conditions (accounting for 1/3 variance), including (a) government health expenditure beyond that expected gross domestic product (GDP); (b) a safe working environment for doctors in wealthy nations; and (c) high salaries for nurses in less-developed economies. In contrast, adolescents' background (gender, social status, and academic ability) was less influential, explaining only 10% of the differences.

CONCLUSIONS

In the technological and digital era, high-ability students are equally competitive for emerging careers other than doctors and nurses. In developing countries, a high salary package and societal respect are enough to attract adolescents to nursing careers. In contrast, for developed countries, extra expenditures beyond regular GDP allocation and a safe work environment are crucial in attracting adolescents to become doctors. Salary may effectively attract international-trained doctors and nurses, but the work environment will likely emerge as an essential factor in retaining migrants in their positions.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

No human participants were involved in this study.

The Relationship Between Emotional Intelligence and Expatriate Performance in International Construction Projects

Purpose

In the field of construction, it has been shown that individuals with higher emotional intelligence may perform better on the job. However, it is still a question worth exploring about how emotional intelligence affects expatriate performance in international construction projects. Therefore, this study aimed to verify the relationship between expatriates' emotional intelligence and expatriate performance and explore the mediating role of self-efficacy and psychological resilience.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted in June 2021. A non-probability sampling method was used to obtain data. A total of 315 Chinese construction expatriates in 67 countries and regions around the world were evaluated using four scales: the Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale, the General Self-Efficacy Scale, the Connor-Davidson Resilience scale, and the Kraimer's expatriate's performance scale. The hypothesis model was tested using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM).

Results

The results of the data analysis indicated that self-efficacy (β_{Indirect effect} = 0.175, p<0.05) and psychological resilience (β_{Indirect effect} = 0.112, p<0.05) served as fully mediating variables (β _{Direct effect} = 0.177, p=0.101), suggesting a way to explain how emotional intelligence affect the performance of contractor expatriates. The findings also suggest that self-efficacy and psychological resilience also play continuous and multiple mediating roles (β_{Indirect effect} = 0.143, p<0.05) between emotional intelligence and expatriate performance.

Conclusion

This study attempted to investigate the mechanism of emotional intelligence's influence on expatriate performance from the perspective of individual psychological resources. The results of the study suggest that the emotional intelligence of expatriates may bring about an increase in performance levels by improving self-efficacy and psychological resilience levels. This provides a practical way to improve the performance of expatriates and a new management perspective for human resource management in international construction projects.

A social cognitive perspective on occupational identity development in college students

Occupational identity is a central concept of career development, by providing a sense of direction and meaning across career development. This study aimed to examine how this concept can be associated with career processes through model formed by a set of socio-cognitive factors. The participants were 358 college students at a Brazilian university who completed measures of occupational identity, environmental supports and barriers, self-efficacy, goal progress, and academic satisfaction. Analysis indicates that the occupational identity status was partially well predicted by the combination of self-efficacy to cope with barriers, supports, academic satisfaction, and goal progress. These results highlight that students with a positive sense of competencies to deal with barriers and adequate levels of academic satisfaction would easily establish an occupational identity.

Career Self-Efficacy, Future Perceptions, and Life Satisfaction: Investigating Two Adolescent Career Development Models

This study examined two models of adolescents’ future perceptions and life satisfaction through a sense of career self-efficacy. Derived from the satisfaction model proposed by social cognitive career theory (SCCT), both examined models address work and family domains but differ in how career self-efficacy is appraised. The integrative model considers career self-efficacy a latent variable, incorporating three self-efficacy types as follows: occupational, spousal, and managing work and family roles. The alternative discrete model considers these three self-efficacy types separately. Israeli Jewish adolescents ( N = 264) completed measures of the three self-efficacy domains, future perceptions, and life satisfaction. Findings for both models extended the SCCT’s satisfaction model’s applicability to adolescents. The broader, integrative definition of career self-efficacy proved superior to the alternative model, reckoning the self-esteem types discretely. Research and practice implications are discussed.

Involuntary Career Changes: A Lonesome Social Experience

Like any other career process, career changes are influenced by relationships. Moreover, involuntary career changes are a challenging, yet understudied, career transition. Based on a relational perspective of work and careers, we investigated the way people’s social environment affects the process and experience of involuntary career changes. Specifically, we aimed to identify the sources of relational influences and to understand how these influences affect career changes. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with 14 adults who were forced to change career because of unemployment or health issues. Through thematic analysis, we identified three sources of relational influences (personal, work, and institutional environment) and three forms of influence that others had on career changes (positive, negative, and ambivalent). These influences manifested at four distinct moments of the process: When participants were leaving their former job, when they were shifting between their former occupation and a new livelihood, when they were exploring new career options, or when they were trying to implement their new career plan. Overall, results suggest that involuntary career changes are deeply shaped by heterogeneous and differentiated relational influences. The effect of the personal environment varied depending on the moment of the career change process. In particular, family and friends tended to be perceived as barriers when it came to shifting from the old to a new occupation and implementing a new career plan. The work environment mostly had a negative effect on the career change experience, suggesting the labor market might be somewhat refractory toward adult career changers. Institutions played a critical role throughout the change process, with support structures often being perceived as inappropriate, but with guidance professionals generally recognizing participants’ difficulties. Moreover, diverse forms of ambivalence characterized the identified relational influences, which were sometimes both appreciated and avoided or had ambiguous and fluctuating effects. Finally, although being a fundamentally social experience, involuntary career changes were also characterized by moments of loneliness that reflected the inadequacy of available support and a sense of shame associated with the status of career changer. Study limitations, research perspectives, and practical implications at the labor market, institutional, and individual levels are addressed.

How Does Career Calling Influence Preservice Teachers' Learning Engagement? A Multiple Mediating Roles of Occupational Self-Efficacy and Vocational Outcome Expectation

This study used social cognitive career theory (SCCT) to explore the relationships between career calling, occupational self-efficacy, vocational outcome expectation, and learning engagement among preservice teachers at a normal university in China. Data from 1,029 preservice teachers were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling. The results revealed that career calling was found to be significantly and positively affected on learning engagement; occupational self-efficacy and vocational outcome expectation were identified as key mediators of this relationship. These findings advance our knowledge of how best to promote the learning engagement of preservice teachers and may inform the future design of teacher development programs.

How Determinants of Employee Innovation Behavior Matter During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Investigating Cross-Regional Role via Multi-Group Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling Analysis

The COVID-19 pandemic cropping up at the end of 2019 started to pose a threat to millions of people's health and life after a few weeks. Nevertheless, the COVID-19 pandemic gave rise to social and economic problems that have changed the progress steps of individuals and the whole nation. In this study, the work conditions for employees from Taiwan, Malaysia, and the Chinese mainland are explored and compared, and the relationship between support mechanisms and innovation behaviors (IB) is evaluated with a view of the social cognitive career theory. This study adopts the cross-sectional survey and purposive sampling to collect questionnaires. A total of 623 copies of a questionnaire from Taiwanese, 440 copies from Malaysians, and 513 copies from mainlanders were collected in this study to compare the three groups in developing employees' IBs. Smart-partial least squares for partial least squares structural equation modeling was applied in the structural model to conduct a verification of the hypotheses and comparative analysis in this study. According to the findings, compared with employees from the Chinese mainland, the Taiwanese and Malaysian samples show more significant paths regarding employee employability, IB, prior knowledge, perceived organizational support, self-efficacy, and job performance. Our results will offer more insights and advice concerning theories of human resource.

STEM Stories: Fostering STEM Persistence for Underrepresented Minority (URM) Students Attending Predominantly White Institutions

Challenges persist in creating a diverse pipeline of STEM professionals. This study aims to understand the multifaceted experiences and needs of Underrepresented Minority (URM) college students as they navigate STEM environments and career choices. Utilizing social cognitive career theory (SCCT), this qualitative, multi-institutional study explored the varied experiences and barriers that 44 URM STEM students negotiated at two Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs). Implications for practice, research, and policy focus on interventions aimed at increasing persistence and fostering STEM career decision-making. Keywords: STEM, underrepresented minority students, career exploration, student-faculty relationships, mentoring

Making a Commitment to Your Future: Investigating the Effect of Career Exploration and Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy on the Relationship between Career Concern and Career Commitment

Career commitment refers to individuals’ dedication to their career; in the field of vocational psychology, career commitment is considered a vital factor for promoting a sustainable career. The current study examined a mediation model of career concern related to career commitment with career exploration and Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy (CDMSE) as two mediators. The participants were 1105 high school students (males = 594, females = 511) recruited from three main cities in Jiangsu Province, China. Results indicated that the hypotheses were all confirmed: the direct effect of career concern on career commitment was significant (β = 0.598, p < 0.001); the indirect effect of career concern on career commitment through career exploration and CDMSE was also significant (β = 0.255, p < 0.001); and career exploration and CDMSE mediated the relation from career concern to career commitment. Finally, the authors discussed the implications of the findings which could be applied to improve a high school student’s career commitment and the sustainability of career development. The limitations of the study and the future research needed to complement the current work are also discussed.

Working adults' future occupational plans: the contribution of role characteristics, social support, and occupational self-efficacy

School counselors' occupational plans were investigated in terms of the mediating role of occupational self-efficacy including three antecedents (role clarity, role autonomy, social support) on three outcomes (life satisfaction, job satisfaction, occupational plans) among 483 female Israeli school counselors, aged 26-69. High levels of the three antecedents were associated with high levels of occupational self-efficacy, which in turn was associated with high levels of life and job satisfaction and with counselors' plans to remain in their profession. The antecedents also demonstrated direct effects with job satisfaction. This emphasizes the importance of occupational self-efficacy in counselor retention and its antecedents.

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.

Cross-Cultural Differences in Adopting Social Cognitive Career Theory at Student Employability in PLS-SEM: The Mediating Roles of Self-Efficacy and Deep Approach to Learning

Unable to keep pace with the expectations of employers and societies that are constantly changing around the world, higher education policy and talent training have given rise to a gap between university education and employment. However, the higher education and industrial needs derived from technological progress have changed the development in country. This study aims to verify the learning method of Taiwanese vs. Malaysian university students and examines the relationship between teacher knowledge transfer and student employability from the perspective of a social cognitive career theory. In this study, 619 copies of questionnaires from the Taiwanese sample group and 443 copies of questionnaires from the Malaysian sample group were collected in total to compare the two sample groups in the development of student employability. The results indicate that teacher knowledge transfer has significant positive correlations with self-efficacy and a deep approach to learning and student employability, and the self-efficacy and a deep approach to learning have significant positive correlations with student employability in the Taiwanese sample. In Malaysia, except for the path between teacher knowledge transfer and student employability, all paths were significant and positively related. Finally, according to our results and findings, this study proposes several insights with practical and theoretical implications for future study.

The Relationship Between Work Study and Career Development for Undergraduate Students

One route toward career preparation for college students comes from work experience. Internships demonstrate benefits, but there is limited inquiry on the career development benefits of Federal Work Study (FWS). Archival data from nearly 600 students at one Southeastern research I institution suggest a significant and positive relationship between FWS participation and career clarity, decisiveness, and satisfaction. We outline the opportunity for further inquiry on process variables and the potential impact of FWS on the career development of our most vulnerable college student populations.

Factors Influencing Employees' Subjective Wellbeing and Job Performance During the COVID-19 Global Pandemic: The Perspective of Social Cognitive Career Theory

The novel coronavirus disease that emerged at the end of 2019 began threatening the health and lives of millions of people after a few weeks. However, social and economic problems derived from COVID-19 have changed the development of individuals and the whole country. This study examines the work conditions of Taiwanese versus mainland China employees, and evaluates the relationship between support mechanisms and subjective wellbeing from a social cognitive career theory perspective. In this study, a total of 623 Taiwanese questionnaires and 513 mainland China questionnaires were collected to compare the two sample groups in terms of the development of employees’ subjective wellbeing. The results show that the Taiwanese sample had more significant development paths compared to mainland China employees in terms of prior knowledge, perceived organizational support, self-efficacy, employee employability, subjective wellbeing, and job performance. Finally, based on the conclusions, this study proposes some specific suggestions on theoretical mode for future studies.

Adolescent–Parent Career Congruence as a Predictor of Job Search Preparatory Behaviors: The Role of Proactivity

Based on social cognitive career theory, we examined the mediating roles of job search self-efficacy and outcome expectations in the relationship between adolescent–parent career congruence and job search preparatory behaviors and investigated the influence of proactivity as a moderator in these direct and indirect relationships. Participants were 236 Grade 10 and 11 Indonesian students (mean age 16 years, 67% male), who were attending a vocational education school and would not be progressing to post–high school study. After controlling for educational achievement, we found congruence to be associated with self-efficacy (24% of variance explained), outcome expectations (23%), and job search preparatory behaviors (46%). Self-efficacy, but not outcome expectations, was related to more preparatory behaviors, and self-efficacy fully mediated between congruence and preparatory behaviors. Proactivity moderated the direct relationships between congruence and self-efficacy and outcome expectations, but not preparatory behaviors, and did not moderate any of the indirect relationships.

Examining the Career Self-Management Model Among Native American Students With STEM Career Goals

Native Americans are highly underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) careers; however, little research exists concerning how to promote Native Americans’ participation in STEM. In this study, we address this gap by examining variables hypothesized to promote participation using the career self-management (CSM) model among Native American college students with STEM career goals. Results of stepwise regressions demonstrated that academic achievement along with the problem-solving aspects of career self-management (CSM) self-efficacy and instrumental assistance from parents, peers, and others in students’ schools and communities predicts clearer, more specific, and more personally congruent goals; and that these goals along with self-efficacy and instrumental assistance predict career exploration. Contrary to hypotheses, neither STEM outcome expectations nor gender was related to goals or exploration. These findings suggest that CSM can be used to guide research regarding the STEM career development of Native American college students.

Vocational Psychology and the Future: The Role of Telepsychology in Shaping Research

Vocational psychologists have predicted the utilization of telepsychology in career interventions, yet vocational research have not capitalized on this modality. The purpose of this article is to describe how telepsychology could be used effectively in vocational psychology research to expand the reach and application of the field’s scholarship to real-world practice. We discuss challenges and ethical issues of this modality and the limitations of vocational psychology scholarship. We argue that telepsychology can overcome current challenges in the field by allowing vocational psychology research to extend to underserved populations, to produce scholarship that might better fill the research to practice gap, and to have practical application to better meet the challenges of the rapidly transforming world of work. In this article, each of these research areas is explored and potential research questions are highlighted.

Time Perspective and Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy: A Longitudinal Examination Among Young Adult Students

This longitudinal study examined the relationship between Zimbardo time perspectives (TPs) and career decision-making self-efficacy (CDMSE). In total, 1,753 young adults participated in the longitudinal study. For the present study, we selected only participants who were students and provided information on TPs, CDMSE, and sociodemographic characteristics ( n = 492, M = 22.97 years, SD = 1.32, 82.9% women). The results of multilevel modeling showed that future orientation and present-hedonistic TPs were positively related to CDMSE, whereas present-fatalistic and past-negative TPs were negatively related to CDMSE. These findings indicate that besides the beneficial effect of widely studied future TP, the negative role of past-negative and present-fatalistic TPs should be considered in connection with the career development of emerging adults.

A Qualitative Exploration of STEM Career Development of High School Students in Taiwan

Although personal inputs and contextual variables in social cognitive career theory (SCCT) are recognized as key factors that affect career interests and choices, research has given minimal attention to the role of these variables in a collectivistic culture context. We present a study examining science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) career decision-making process of 12 Taiwanese high school students aged 15–17, using a consensual qualitative research method. The data analysis resulted in four domains: personal input, contextual variables, outcome expectations, and self-efficacy identified by SCCT. These results provide a foundation for future research on cross-cultural STEM career development. Implications highlight the importance of counselors in encouraging students of collectivistic culture background to pursue STEM careers.

Facets of Career Development in a New Immigrant Destination: Exploring the Associations Among School Climate, Belief in Self, School Engagement, and Academic Achievement

With contemporary career challenges facing Latino/a youth, particularly those from immigrant communities, counselors and career development professionals may find it challenging to provide effective career services for this unique population. Students from one middle school and one high school located in a new immigrant destination were surveyed to test the hypothesis that belief in self and school engagement (i.e., behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement) played a serial mediating role in the association between school safety and academic achievement (i.e., grade point average). Moderation of the mediation model by ethnicity was also examined. Results from the sample ( N = 877) indicated that school safety was associated with higher levels of belief in self, which in turn was associated with higher levels of school engagement. Only behavioral engagement, however, was associated with greater academic achievement. Associations did not differ by ethnicity. Career implications on the importance of behavioral engagement among teachers, counselors, career development professionals, and administrators to support the academic achievement of marginalized youth are provided.

The Relationships of Self-Esteem, Future Time Perspective, Positive Affect, Social Support, and Career Decision: A Longitudinal Multilevel Study

This study aimed, first, to determine whether the intra-individual variability in positive affect was related to the intra-individual variability in career decision-making self-efficacy, and career choice anxiety. The second objective was to examine whether social support moderates the relationship between affect and these outcome variables. The third objective was to find out how career decision-making self-efficacy and career choice anxiety change according to self-esteem and future time perspective. We conducted a study using the daily diary method in which participants were asked to rate their affect or attitudes for 21 consecutive days. In total, 128 university students participated in this study. The main results were as follows. First, positive affect was associated positively with career decision-making self-efficacy and negatively with career choice anxiety. Second, social support had a synergy effect with positive affect to influence career choice anxiety. Third, self-esteem was related positively to career decision-making self-efficacy and negatively to career choice anxiety. We discuss theoretical and practical implications.

SES, Gender, and STEM Career Interests, Goals, and Actions: A Test of SCCT

Using social cognitive career theory (SCCT), this study examined the role of socioeconomic status (SES) in an SCCT science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) model, with gender controlled for across the model. Results showed that higher SES covaried with lower perceived career barriers, and with greater mother, father, and peer support. In turn, higher SES also predicted greater outcome expectations but not self-efficacy. Efficacy predicted STEM career interests, choice goals, and choice actions (defined as intentions to take advanced math and science courses). Outcome expectations predicted interests but not goals or actions. Barriers, as well as, father and peer support, predicted efficacy, while mother support predicted outcome expectations. Results are discussed in light of the STEM career development among higher and lower SES adolescents.

Social Cognitive Career Theory in a Diverse World

The purposes of this special issue were (a) to examine social cognitive career theory’s (SCCT) relevance to the career development of a diverse range of persons and contexts and (b) to encourage researchers to extend the theory to new cultures, social justice themes, and populations that remain underserved or understudied by vocational psychology. We believe that the range of populations and issues addressed in this special issue illustrate well SCCT’s current scope of applicability. In this article, we offer some final thoughts intended to further strengthen SCCT’s research base. We first comment on each of the articles, highlighting their implications for future research. We conclude by emphasizing a few larger issues that emerged for us across the set of articles and that point to additional directions for advancing research on SCCT within a diverse world.