The youth unemployment rate is steadily on the rise, and that of young people who have received college or higher education is steadily on the increase as well. The increase in graduate unemployment is attributed to social factors such as imbalance be...
The youth unemployment rate is steadily on the rise, and that of young people who have received college or higher education is steadily on the increase as well. The increase in graduate unemployment is attributed to social factors such as imbalance between demand and supply and economic recession, but a personal factor is one of major causes for that as well. Many students go on to university without carefully considering their own career, aptitude or interest, and it's not easy for them to decide what to do after college graduation. So self- reflection is necessary for the career choice and career preparation of college students. Besides, their career is under the huge influence of support from people around them, and what to do in preparation for future career should be determined in detail.
The purpose of this study was to examine whether the career preparation behavior of college students would be positively affected if they found themselves to receive a lot of social support and whether reflective learning would have any mediating effects on the relationship between social support and career preparation behavior. The subjects in this study were 450 students in four-year universities located in and around Seoul. After a survey was conducted, the answer sheets from 442 respondents were gathered, and the answer sheets from 424 respondents were analyzed except for 18 incomplete ones. The findings of the study were as follows:
First, what influence social support that was an independent variable exerted on career preparation behavior that was a dependent variable was analyzed. As a result, informative support had a positive impact on instrumental preparation behavior, and material support affected goal attainment behavior in a positive manner. Second, as a result of testing the mediating effects of reflective learning on the relationship between social support and career preparation behavior, reflective learning had a significant direct effect on the relationship between the two, and that produced a significant indirect effect at the same time. Thus, reflective learning played a partial mediating role in the relationship between the two variables. Among the subfactors of reflective learning, only reflection and critical reflection had mediating effects on career preparation behavior. The findings of the study had the following implications:
First, self-understanding programs should be provided for students to have a better self-understanding, to make a self-examination and thereby to foster their problem-solving skills. Second, they should fully be ready for employment. To make it happen, they should make a preparation for that in detail and acquire necessary certificates. And the kind of a system that offers and manages useful and quality information to improve their readiness should be established. Third, plenty of financial and material support such as scholarship should be provided for them to put their time and effort into their goal attainment.