ERIC Number: EJ839892
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2008
Pages: 11
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1042-0541
EISSN: N/A
Influence of Career Exploration Process Behaviors on Agriculture Students' Level of Career Certainty
Esters, Levon T.
Journal of Agricultural Education, v49 n3 p23-33 2008
The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which career exploration process behaviors influence the level of career certainty of agriculture students. Data were gathered from 181 freshmen and 131 senior students enrolled in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Iowa State University. Career certainty was assessed using items from the Career Decision Scale (Osipow, 1987) Career exploration was assessed using selected career exploration process behavior scales from the Career Exploration Survey (Stumpf, Colarelli, & Hartmann, 1983). Findings indicated that students were relatively certain in having made a decision about a career but only moderately engaged in various career exploratory process behaviors. Stepwise regression analysis revealed that two career exploration process behaviors explained 35% of the variance in the level of career certainty for freshmen, whereas one career exploration process behavior explained 40% of the variance in the level of career certainty for seniors. Thus, to increase students' level of career certainty, a major focus should be on the extent of career exploration involving self-assessment and retrospection (i.e., Self-Exploration) as well as occupational preferences (i.e., Focus). Implications and recommendations for future research are discussed. (Contains 3 tables.)
Descriptors: Agricultural Colleges, Career Choice, Biological Sciences, Sciences, Agriculture, Career Exploration, Agricultural Education, Higher Education, College Freshmen, College Seniors, Surveys, Undergraduate Students
American Association for Agricultural Education. Box 7607, Department of Agricultural and Extension Education, Raleigh, NC 27695. Web site: http://www.aaaeonline.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Iowa
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A