Mapping Correlates of Career Choice among Administrative Science Undergraduates: Insights from Social Cognitive Career Theory

Authors

  • Yuniadi Mayowan Business Departement, Faculty of Administrative Science, Brawijaya University, Malang City, Indonesia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.38035/dijms.v6i4.5220

Keywords:

Social Cognitive Career Theory, Career Choice, Career Interest, Self-Efficacy, Outcome Expectations, Curriculum Development, Career Guidance, Indonesia.

Abstract

Understanding why undergraduates commit to particular career paths informs curriculum design and career-guidance services in higher education. Guided by Social Cognitive Career Theory, this study explores the relationships among learning experiences, self-efficacy, outcome expectations, career interest, and career choice among 140 students in the Faculty of Administrative Science, Universitas Brawijaya. A validated five-part questionnaire captured perceptions on each construct, and Pearson correlations were computed to map their interconnections. Results show strong positive associations between career choice and career interest (r = 0.79), outcome expectations (r = 0.72), and self-efficacy (r = 0.68), while learning experiences correlate moderately with the other variables. The pattern suggests that cultivating engaging experiences that enhance efficacy beliefs and clarify expected outcomes can foster deeper interests, thereby aligning students’ eventual choices with institutional learning goals. Findings offer evidence to refine competency-based curricula and develop focused career-mentoring initiatives that bridge academic programmes with evolving labour-market demands.

References

Ballout, H. (2009). career commitment and career success: moderating role of self?efficacy. career Development International, 14(7), 655-670. https://doi.org/10.1108/13620430911005708

Ballout, H. (2009). Career commitment and career success: Moderating role of self?efficacy. Career Development International, 14(7), 655–670.

Betz, N. & Hackett, G. (2006). Career self-efficacy theory. Journal of Career Assessment, 14(1), 3–11.

Betz, N. and Voyten, K. (1997). Efficacy and outcome expectations influence career exploration and decidedness. the career Development Quarterly, 46(2), 179-189. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2161-0045.1997.tb01004.x

Betz, N. E., & Hackett, G. (2006). Career self-efficacy theory: Back to the future. *Journal of Career Assessment, 14*(1), 3-11.

Bhalla, A. and Dawra, S. (2019). internship and self efficacy: a literature review on career intentions of undergraduate hospitality students. Restaurant Business, 118(9), 467-486. https://doi.org/10.26643/rb.v118i9.8653

Blotnicky, K. et al. (2018). A study of the correlation between STEM career knowledge, mathematics self-efficacy, career interests.... International Journal of STEM Education.

Blotnicky, K., Franz?Odendaal, T., French, F., & Joy, P. (2018). a study of the correlation between stem career knowledge, mathematics self-efficacy, career interests, and career activities on the likelihood of pursuing a stem career among middle school students. International Journal of Stem Education, 5(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-018-0118-3

Brew, M. and Ngman-Wara, E. (2018). influence of career self-efficacy on career exploration among senior high school students in relation to gender. International Journal of Multidisciplinary and Current research, 6(04). https://doi.org/10.14741/ijmcr/v.6.4.28

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

Brown, S. D., Lent, R. W., & Hackett, G. (2011). Social cognitive career theory. In S. D. Brown & R. W. Lent (Eds.), *Career development and counseling: Putting theory and research to work* (2nd ed., pp. 115-146). Wiley.

Dahl, L., Durán, A., Selznick, B., & Mayhew, M. (2021). Examining the factors associated with college-related career outcome expectations for heterosexual and lgbq students.. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, 14(1), 123-134. https://doi.org/10.1037/dhe0000156

Friesenborg, L. the effect of internships on career decision, as explained by social cognitive career theory, identity theory and attribution theory.. https://doi.org/10.31274/rtd-180813-8350

Ko, K. and Sidhu, D. (2012). the impact of internship in public organizations on university students’ perceptions and career choice. International Review of Administrative Sciences, 78(4), 710-732. https://doi.org/10.1177/0020852312455307

Lapan, J. and Smith, K. (2022). “no girls on the software team”: internship experiences of women in computer science. Journal of career Development, 50(1), 119-134. https://doi.org/10.1177/08948453211070842

Lent, R. W., & Brown, S. D. (2008). Social cognitive career theory and subjective well-being in the context of work. *Journal of Career Assessment, 16*(1), 6-21.

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.

Lent, R. W., Brown, S. D., & Hackett, G. (2002). Social cognitive career theory. In D. Brown (Ed.), *Career choice and development* (4th ed., pp. 255-311). Jossey-Bass.

Mahmud, M. (2023). The relationship between career self -efficacy and career adapt-ability among vocational college students. International Journal of academic research in Business and Social Sciences, 13(9). https://doi.org/10.6007/ijarbss/v13-i9/18618

Nauta, M. M. (2007). Assessing the construct validity of career interests and self-efficacy using the Strong Interest Inventory and skills confidence inventory. Journal of Career Assessment, 15(3), 332–345. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069072707305762

Raharja, S. and Liany, D. (2020). factors affecting accounting students in choosing accounting career path. Jurnal Dinamika Akuntansi, 12(2), 100-113. https://doi.org/10.15294/jda.v12i2.24169

Raque?Bogdan, T., Klingaman, E., Mart??n, H., & Lucas, M. (2013). career?related parent support and career barriers: an investigation of contextual variables. the career Development Quarterly, 61(4), 339-353. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2161-0045.2013.00060.x

Sabirin, A. and Are, R. (2018). Is internship program impact career development perception? empirical study on lsgur hospitality students.. https://doi.org/10.2991/ictgtd-18.2018.13

Schober, D. A., & Stahl, M. J. (1985). The correlation coefficient: A basic statistical tool for marketing research. Journal of Marketing Education, 7(1), 26–30. https://doi.org/10.1177/027347538500700105

Seo, G., Ahn, J., Huang, W., Makela, J., & Yeo, H. (2020). pursuing careers inside or outside academia? factors associated with doctoral students’ career decision making. Journal of career Development, 48(6), 957-972. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894845320907968

Shoffner, M., Newsome, D., Minton, C., & Morris, C. (2014). a qualitative exploration of the stem career-related outcome expectations of young adolescents. Journal of career Development, 42(2), 102-116. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894845314544033

Siddiky, M. and Akter, S. (2021). the students’ career choice and job preparedness strategies: a social environmental perspective. International Journal of Evaluation and Research in Education (Ijere), 10(2), 421. https://doi.org/10.11591/ijere.v10i2.21086

Tang, M., Pan, W., & Newmeyer, M. D. (2008). Factors influencing high school students’ career aspirations. *Professional School Counseling, 11*(5), 285-295.

Thompson, M., Perez-Chavez, J., & Fetter, A. (2021). internship experiences among college students attending an hbc: a longitudinal grounded theory exploration. Journal of career Assessment, 29(4), 589-607. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069072721992758

Tien, H., Wang, Y., & Liu, L. (2009). the role of career barriers in high school students' career choice behavior in taiwan. the career Development Quarterly, 57(3), 274-288. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2161-0045.2009.tb00112.x

Tino, C., Lavagnolo, M., Fedeli, M., & Bierema, L. (2023). Women’s career decision making and interest in engineering. Andragoška Spoznanja, 29(1), 59-80. https://doi.org/10.4312/as/10408

Turner, L. and Hawkins, C. (2014). Revised expected outcomes: essential for attracting tasmanian students to careers in agricultural science. Australian Journal of career Development, 23(2), 88-95. https://doi.org/10.1177/1038416214527737

Downloads

Published

2025-03-29

How to Cite

Mayowan, Y. (2025). Mapping Correlates of Career Choice among Administrative Science Undergraduates: Insights from Social Cognitive Career Theory. Dinasti International Journal of Management Science, 6(4), 731–741. https://doi.org/10.38035/dijms.v6i4.5220

Issue

Vol. 6 No. 4 (2025): Dinasti International Journal of Management Science (March - April 2025)

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Yuniadi Mayowan

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Authors who publish their manuscripts in this journal agree to the following conditions:

  1. The copyright on each article belongs to the author(s).
  2. The author acknowledges that the Dinasti International Journal of Management Science (DIJMS) has the right to be the first to publish with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license (Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).
  3. Authors can submit articles separately, arrange for the non-exclusive distribution of manuscripts that have been published in this journal into other versions (e.g., sent to the author's institutional repository, publication into books, etc.), by acknowledging that the manuscript has been published for the first time in the Dinasti International Journal of Management Science (DIJMS).