Employment instability, especially youth unemployment problem, has been prolonged due to rapidly changing employment environment, diversification of employment status, labor market polarization, and increasing irregular employee. In such situations, t...
Employment instability, especially youth unemployment problem, has been prolonged due to rapidly changing employment environment, diversification of employment status, labor market polarization, and increasing irregular employee. In such situations, the employment rate of engineering degrees showed 73.3%, while that of all graduates in 2014 was 64.5%. Thereby, the preference in engineering major has increased these days. However, understanding the career attribute of engineering for successful career development must be considered aside from quantitative indicators such as the employment rate. Engineering career attributes need various kinds of expertise according to continuing development of new technology and industry convergence. Domestic universities enforce accreditation for engineering education in order to warrant the quality of engineering education.
Considering the career success process in personal dimension, undergraduate students majoring in engineering also aim to achieve sustainable employment and establish a career which matches their abilities and interests over the specific level after received a degree. Accordingly, the ability to actively cope with the rapidly changing situation has become more important. In order to improve the career adaptability and the effectiveness of engineering education with consideration on characteristics of engineering education which is rapidly changed, a study on career adaptability should take into account both personal and external contextual factors.
Based on the social cognitive career theory, the present study selects mastery goal orientation as a personal factor, and social support and supports for career development as external contextual factors. Major commitment, career decision-making self-efficacy, and engineering interest are selected as variables on learning experience, self-efficacy, and interest, respectively. The present study investigates structural relationships between factors that affect the career adaptability and then compares an average of variables between male and female groups with the size of effects. It can provide basic materials on the direction of the strategy and the derivation of implications for improving the career adaptability of undergraduate students majoring in engineering.
According to the goal of the present study, selected research problems are as follows.
1. Do mastery goal orientation, social support, and supports for career development perceived by engineering undergraduate students affect major commitment?
2. Do mastery goal orientation, social support, supports for career development, and major commitment perceived by engineering undergraduate students affect career decision-making self-efficacy?
3. Do major commitment and career decision-making self-efficacy perceived by engineering undergraduate students affect engineering interest?
4. Do career decision-making self-efficacy and engineering interest perceived by engineering undergraduate students affect career adaptability?
5. Does gender of engineering undergraduate students make any difference in the latent mean of mastery goal orientation, social support, supports for career development, major commitment, career decision-making self-efficacy, engineering interest, and career adaptability?
6. Does gender of engineering undergraduate students make any difference in mastery goal orientation, social support, supports for career development, major commitment, career decision-making self-efficacy, and engineering interest effect on career adaptability?
For this research, a survey was conducted with the third and fourth grader engineering students at two universities located in Seoul, South Korea on August, 2015, and the proposed model was tested with final 307 samples. Analysis on reliability, descriptive, and correlation was conducted using SPSS. The fit-index for the measurement model, convergent validity, and discriminant validity were verified after confirmatory factor analysis using AMOS. Then the fir-index for the structural model set in hypothetical research model was verified. Based on this verification, the direct and indirect effects between variables were analyzed and the significance of indirect effects was verified. Finally, by using latent mean analysis and path coefficient comparison between groups, the difference in latent variables between male and female, and the difference in influences between latent variables were examined.
The major findings of the present study are as follows.
First, mastery goal orientation, supports for career development had significant effects on major commitment. Mastery goal orientation showed greater influence than supports for career development, while social support showed no significant effect on major commitment.
Second, career decision-making self-efficacy was significantly affected in the order of mastery goal orientation, supports for career development, social support, and major commitment.
Third, major commitment and career decision-making self-efficacy had significant effects on engineering interest.
Fourth, career decision-making self-efficacy and engineering interest had significant effects on career adaptability.
Firth, indirect effects of mastery goal orientation, social support, supports for career development, and major commitment on career adaptability were confirmed.
Sixth, career decision-making self-efficacy was the only variable that makes a significant difference in between male and female groups, i.e., latent mean in a male group was higher than that in a female group, and the effect size was medium.
Based on above research findings, recommendations for future study are as follows.
First, a study on generalization of the results is suggested, which can be conducted by collecting and analyzing samples from different regions selected as supporting projects of Center for Innovation in Engineering Education.
Second, verification on whether the difference of research environment makes a significant difference in research findings or not is suggested, which can be conducted by performing the research based on specific and practical learning environment like project-based class or class.
Third, verification on whether the gender ratio of participants makes significantly differences from the results of the present study or not is suggested, which can be conducted by reflecting the gender ratio of real engineering students in the future study.
Fourth, verification of relations between the career adaptability and actual employment rate is required, which can be conducted by performing longitudinal study, of which targets are the graduate students who participated in this study.
Practical implications and significance derived from the present study are as follows.
First, the present study has a great significant in that the present study collectively validates structural relations among various variables by taking into account mastery goal orientation as a personal factor of a learner with external contextual factors.
Second, the support from universities is required in order to effectively achieve core tasks of the present government, i.e., training creative engineer and engineering education focusing on the field by utilizing infrastructure. Because of this reason, the present study validates structural research models including career development support. Moreover, the present study suggests a specific strategy based on the results for effective career development support in university dimension, which has also a great significance.
Third, the present study validates indirect effects on career adaptability, i.e., mastery goal orientation, social support, supports of career development, and major commitment, by examining indirect effects among variables. In particular, the present study confirms that career decision-making self-efficacy is a parameter in relations among mastery goal orientation, social support, supports of career development, major commitment, and career adaptability. Comparing that the previous work using social cognitive theory has separately studied career exploration, career development, and career selection process, the present study collectively investigates factors that should be considered in career development process of undergraduate students and it shows a great significant.
Fourth, the present study examine that the average career decision-making self efficacy of male student group is higher than female student group and need to cause analysis regarding gender difference.