Home / Regular Issue / JSSH Vol. 29 (S1) 2021 / JSSH(S)-1491-2021

 

Role of Career Exploration in Influencing Career Choice among Pre-University Student

Noor Ashira Yusran, Mohd Hazwan Mohd Puad and Muhd Khaizer Omar

Pertanika Journal of Social Science and Humanities, Volume 29, Issue S1, December 2021

DOI: https://doi.org/10.47836/pjssh.29.s1.05

Keywords: Career choice, career exploration, career self-efficacy, mediator, social support

Published on: 14 April 2021

In the age of innovation, digitalization, and globalization today, deciding to take a career path has been growing and challenging. The career path continues to increase its stature as a career choice, pursued by many in an evolving, unpredictable, and competitive marketplace. Students’ general career selection process is the first step to ensuring that human resources align with the labor market demands. This study aimed to determine the role of career exploration as a mediator in the relationship between social support and career self-efficacy on career choices among pre-university students. This research is a quantitative and correlational study conducted on students in the Agricultural Science of Foundation program at Universiti Putra Malaysia. By using simple random sampling, 249 students were selected based on Cohen’s calculation. The researchers used the Career Exploration Survey (CES), Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy Scale-Short (CDSE-SF), and career choice instrument surveys to measure the variables in this study. The results show that career exploration acts as a partial mediator in the relationship between social support and career self-efficacy on career choice. There is not only a significant relationship between the career exploration and the career choice, but also some direct relationship between the social support, career self-efficacy and career choice. This study provides a basis for reference to academicians and instructors designing the pre-university student curriculum in choosing a career. Teachers are also recommended to play an active role in initiating career exploration activities for students during their learning process.

  • Abiddin, N. S., Kadir, S. A., & Kamis, A. (2009). Strategi memperkasa pendidikan teknik dan vokasional [Strategies to empower technical and vocational education]. Universiti Putra Malaysia.

  • Aftab, S. R., & Malik, J. A. (2017). Mediating role of career thoughts for the effect of career exploration on career decision making. Foundation University Journal of Psychology, 1(2), 1–18.

  • Ahmed, K. A., Sharif, N., & Ahmad, N. (2017). Factors influencing students’ career choices: Empirical evidence from business students. Journal of Southeast Asian Research, 2017, 1–15.

  • Akosah-Twumasi, P., Emeto, T. I., Lindsay, D., Tsey, K., & Malau-Aduli, B. S. (2018). A systematic review of factors that influence youths career choices—The role of culture. Frontiers in Education, 3, 1–15. doi: 10.3389/feduc.2018.00058

  • Albay, M., & Serbes, M. (2017). Importance of career planning and development in education. International Journal of Social Sciences & Educational Studies, 4(2), 149–154. doi: 10.23918/ijsses.v4i2sip149

  • Alkhelil, A. H. (2016). The relationship between personality traits and career choice: A case study of secondary school students. International Journal of Academic Research in Progressive Education and Development, 5(2), 2226–6348.

  • Arshad, M., Tahir, A., Khan, M. M., & Basit, A. (2018). Impact of career counseling and vocational guidance on employment in TVET sector. International Journal of Human Resource Studies, 8(1), 274–289. doi: 10.5296/ijhrs.v8i1.12554

  • Atchoarena, D., & Delluc, A. (2002). Revisiting technical and vocational education in sub-saharan Africa: An update on trends, innovations and challenges. New trends in technical and vocational education. World Bank. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000129354_eng

  • Bakar, A. R. (2011). Preparing Malaysian youths for the world of work: Roles of technical and vocational education and training (TVET). Universiti Putra Malaysia.

  • Bandura, A. (1989). Regulation of cognitive processes through perceived self-efficacy. Developmental Psychology, 25(5), 729–735. doi: 10.1037/0012-1649.25.5.729

  • Betz, N. E., Klein, K. L., & Taylor, K. M. (1996). Evaluation of a short form of the career decision-making self-efficacy scale. Journal of Career Assessment, 4(1), 47–57. doi: 10.1177/106907279600400103

  • Borg, T., Bright, J. E., & Pryor, R. G. (2014). High school students–complexity, change and chance: Do the key concepts of the Chaos Theory of Careers apply? Australian Journal of Career Development, 23(1), 22–28. doi: 10.1177/1038416214523394

  • Brown, C., Darden, E. E., Shelton, M. L., & Dipoto, M. C. (1999). Career exploration and self-efficacy of high school students: Are there urban/suburban differences? Journal of Career Assessment, 7(3), 227–237. doi: 10.1177/106907279900700303

  • Brown, D. J., Cober, R. T., Kane, K., Levy, P. E., & Shalhoop, J. (2006). Proactive personality and the successful job search: A field investigation with college graduates. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91(3), 717–726. doi: 10.1037/0021-9010.91.3.717

  • Borg, R. (1996). Factors determining career choice. European Education, 28(2), 6-20. doi: 10.2753/eue1056-493428026

  • Career Industry Council of Australia. (2020). Career education: Why is it important? Career Industry Council of Australia. https://pssfw.myskills.gov.au/media/1754/career-education-why-is-it-important.pdf

  • Chan, C.-C. (2020). Factors affecting career goals of taiwanese college athletes from perspective of social cognitive career theory. Journal of Career Development, 47(2), 193–206. doi: 10.1177/0894845318793234

  • Cho, H. (2017). The role of career counselling in job and career development. Pertanika Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 25(S), 29–38.

  • Fizer, D. (2013). Factors affecting career choices of college students enrolled in agriculture [Master Thesis]. University of Tennessee.

  • Guan, Y., Wang, F., Liu, H., Ji, Y., Jia, X., Fang, Z., Li, Y., Hua, H., & Li, C. (2015). Career-specific parental behaviors, career exploration and career adaptability: A three-wave investigation among Chinese undergraduates. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 86, 95–103. doi: 10.1016/j.jvb.2014.10.007

  • Guichard, J. (2001). A century of career education: Review and perspectives. International Journal for Educational and Vocational Guidance, 1(3), 155–176. doi: 10.1023/A:1012207018303

  • Gushue, G. V., Clarke, C. P., Pantzer, K. M., & Scanlan, K. R. (2006). Self-efficacy, perceptions of barriers, vocational identity, and the career exploration behavior of Latino/a high school students. The Career Development Quarterly, 54(4), 307–317. doi:/10.1002/j.2161-0045.2006.tb00196.x

  • Hermawan, R., & Farozin, M. (2018). The role of career exploration in career decision participants. COUNS-EDU: The International Journal of Counseling and Education, 3(4), 126–132. doi: 10.23916/0020180315640

  • Hirschi, A. (2018). The fourth industrial revolution: Issues and implications for career research and practice. The Career Development Quarterly, 66(3), 192–204. doi:/10.1002/cdq.12142

  • Hooley, T., & Dodd, V. (2015). The economic benefits of career guidance. Careers England.

  • Hsiao, J., & Nova, S. P. de C. C. (2016). Generational approach to factors influencing career choice in accounting. Revista Contabilidade & Finanças, 27(72), 393–407. doi: 10.1590/1808-057x201602980

  • Humayon, A. A., Raza, S., & Khan, R. A. (2018). Effect of family influence, personal interest and economic considerations on career choice amongst undergraduate students in higher educational Institutions of Vehari, Pakistan. International Journal of Organizational Leadership, 7(2), 129–142.

  • Ibrahim, W. N. A., Bakar, A. R., Asimiran, S., Mohamed, S., & Zakaria, N. S. (2015). Impact of entrepreneurship education on the entrepreneurial intentions of students in technical and vocational education and training institutions (TVET) in Malaysia. International Education Studies, 8(12), 141–156. doi: 10.5539/ies.v8n12p141

  • Indianti, W., & Aninditha, R. (2019). Does academic self-concept moderate academic achievement and career adaptability? A study of Indonesian junior high students. Pertanika Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 27(T2), 187–195.

  • Ismail, A., Madrah, H., Aminudin, N., & Ismail, Y. (2013). Mediating role of career development in the relationship between career program and personal outcomes. Makara Seri Sosial Humaniora, 17(1), 43–54. doi: 10.7454/mssh.v17i1.1806

  • Kamaliah, S., Roslan, S., Bakar, A. R., & Ghiami, Z. (2018). The effect of supervised work experience on the acquisition of employability skills among Malaysian students. Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning, 8(4), 354–364. doi: 10.1108/HESWBL-05-2016-0028

  • Kazi, A. S., & Akhlaq, A. (2017). Factors affecting students’ career choice. Journal of Research & Reflections in Education (JRRE), 11(2), 187–196.

  • Khalid, N. (2016). A study of students’ choice of higher education in achieving their career aspirations. Pertanika Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 24(S), 131–138.

  • Kunnen, E. S. (2013). The effects of career choice guidance on identity development. Education Research International, 2013, 1–9. doi: 10.1155/2013/901718

  • Lent, R. W., Brown, S. D., & Hackett, G. (1994). Toward a unifying social cognitive theory of career and academic interest, choice, and performance. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 45(1), 79–122. doi: 10.1006/jvbe.1994.1027

  • Lent, R. W., Hoffman, M. A., Hill, C. E., Treistman, D., Mount, M., & Singley, D. (2006). Client-specific counselor self-efficacy in novice counselors: Relation to perceptions of session quality. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 53(4), 453–463. doi: 10.1037/0022-0167.53.4.453

  • MacKinnon, D. P., Coxe, S., & Baraldi, A. N. (2012). Guidelines for the investigation of mediating variables in business research. Journal of Business and Psychology, 27(1), 1–14. doi: 10.1007/s10869-011-9248-z

  • Mahadi, H., Abdullah, N., Ph’ng, L. M., Hasan, H., & Ariffin, H. (2016). Self-esteem, social support, and career decision-making among technical engineering students. Social Sciences (Pakistan), 11(12), 2971–2976.

  • Manasseh, N. I. (2015). Self Efficacy and work performance: A theoretical framework of Albert Bandura’s model, review of findings, implications and directions for future research. Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, 4(4), 170–173.

  • Mohd Rasdi, R., & Ahrari, S. (2020). The applicability of social cognitive career theory in predicting life satisfaction of university students: A meta-analytic path analysis. Plos One, 15(8), 1–22. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0237838

  • Nyamwange, J. (2016). Influence of student’s interest on career choice among first year university students in public and private universities in Kisii County, Kenya. Journal of Education and Practice, 7(4), 96–102.

  • Omar, M. K., Self, M. J., Cole, K. L. M., Rashid, A. M., & Puad, M. H. M. (2018). Job satisfaction and motivation to teach: Predicting intrinsic and extrinsic factors towards retaining career-switchers in the teaching profession. International Journal of Education, 3(16), 59–76.

  • Omar, Z., Krauss, S. E., Sail, R. M., & Ismail, I. A. (2011). Exploring career success of late bloomers from the TVET background. Education+ Training, 53(7), 603–624. doi: 10.1108/00400911111171995

  • Ooi, P. B., Jaafar, W. M. B. W., & Baba, M. B. (2018). Relationship between sources of counseling self-efficacy and counseling self-efficacy among Malaysian school counselors. The Social Science Journal, 55(3), 369–376. doi: 10.1016/j.soscij.2017.05.005

  • Park, K., Woo, S., Park, K., Kyea, J., & Yang, E. (2017). The mediation effects of career exploration on the relationship between trait anxiety and career indecision. Journal of Career Development, 44(5), 440–452. doi: 10.1177/0894845316662346

  • Pei-Boon, O., Wan Jaafar, W. M., Chin-Siang, A., & Nee-Nee, C. (2020). Psychometric properties of the sources of counseling self efficacy in a sample of Malaysian secondary school counselors. SAGE Open, 10(1), 1–12. doi: 10.1177/2158244020902076

  • Pereira, A. C., & Romero, F. (2017). A review of the meanings and the implications of the Industry 4.0 concept. Procedia Manufacturing, 13(1206–1214), 1206–1214. doi: 10.1016/j.promfg.2017.09.032

  • Puad, M. H. M., & Desa, H. M. (2020). Dissecting perceptions of new graduates on work orientation and self-confidence in employability skills training program. Universal Journal of Educational Research, 8(1), 70–75. doi: 10.13189/ujer.2020.081310

  • Quadri, M. O. (2018). Influence of career choice on professional and job commitment of librarians in selected libraries in Oyo and Ogun states, Nigeria. Library Philosophy and Practice, 1, 1–13.

  • Rashid, A. M., Bakar, A. R., Asimiran, S., & Tieng, L. P. (2009). Career development interventions in secondary schools in the state of Terengganu, Malaysia. European Journal of Social Sciences, 8(1), 62–67.

  • Samah, B. A. (2016). Enhancing extension education research using structural equation modeling: Enriching evidence-based extension work practices. Universiti Putra Malaysia.

  • Shrout, P. E., & Bolger, N. (2002). Mediation in experimental and nonexperimental studies: New procedures and recommendations. Psychological Methods, 7(4), 422–445. doi: 10.1037/1082-989X.7.4.422

  • Stumpf, S. A., Colarelli, S. M., & Hartman, K. (1982). The career exploration survey: A summary of its dimensionality, reliability, and validity. Psychological Reports, 51(1), 117–118. doi: 10.2466/pr0.1982.51.1.117

  • Tadele, G., & Terefe, E. (2016). Influence of career self-efficacy beliefs on career exploration behaviours among TVET college students in Wollega zones town. Science, Technology and Arts Research Journal, 5(1), 108–114. doi: 10.4314/star.v5i1.17

  • Talib, J., Mamat, M., & Ibrahim, M. (2017). Exploration of parenting style among parents of low social class with underachieving children. Jurnal Psikologi Dan Kesihatan Sosial, 1, 8–12.

  • Turan, E., Çelik, E., & Turan, M. E. (2014). Perceived social support as predictors of adolescents’ career exploration. Australian Journal of Career Development, 23(3), 119–124. doi: 10.1177/1038416214535109

  • United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. (2002). Records of the thirty-first session of the General Conference: Resolutions. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

  • Van Ryn, M., & Vinokur, A. D. (1992). How did it work? An examination of the mechanisms through which an intervention for the unemployed promoted job-search behavior. American Journal of Community Psychology, 20(5), 577–597.

  • World Bank. (2020). World Bank country and lending groups. World Bank. https://datahelpdesk.worldbank.org/knowledgebase/articles/906519-world-bank-country-and-lending-groups.

  • Wright, S. L., Perrone-McGovern, K. M., Boo, J. N., & White, A. V. (2014). Influential factors in academic and career self-efficacy: Attachment, supports, and career barriers. Journal of Counseling & Development, 92(1), 36–46. doi: 10.1002/j.1556-6676.2014.00128.x

  • Xu, H., Hou, Z. J., & Tracey, T. J. (2014). Relation of environmental and self-career exploration with career decision-making difficulties in Chinese students. Journal of Career Assessment, 22(4), 654–665. doi: 10.1177/1069072713515628

  • Yalalova, J., & Zhang, L. (2017). Self-efficacy and career satisfaction: The mediating role of work effort. [Paper presentation]. International Conference on Transformations and Innovations in Management (ICTIM 2017), Shanghai, China. https://doi.org/10.2991/ictim-17.2017.31

  • Yusop, A. H. M. (2002). Kesediaan menceburi kerjaya perguruan: Satu kajian kes di kalangan pelajar-pelajar IPT aliran Pendidikan Teknik dan Vokasional [Willingness to venture into a teaching career: A case study among students of IPT streams in Technical and Vocational Education]. [Paper presentation]. Seminar Kebangsaan Pendidikan Guru 2002, Kedah, Malaysia. http://eprints.uthm.edu.my/id/eprint/4112/

  • Zimet, G. D., Dahlem, N. W., Zimet, S. G., & Farley, G. K. (1988). The multidimensional scale of perceived social support. Journal of Personality Assessment, 52(1), 30–41. doi: 10.1207/s15327752jpa5201_2

ISSN 0128-7702

e-ISSN 2231-8534

Article ID

JSSH(S)-1491-2021

Download Full Article PDF

Share this article

Recent Articles