Evidence shows that biomedical engineering students face unique challenges in entering the workforce compared to peers in other engineering majors. The purpose of this study is to explore the factors impacting undergraduate engineering students' career attainment, or the acquisition of employment in a chosen field, and how the students experienced…

As universities prioritise employability, there is increased attention to promoting students' career decidedness. In this mixed method, cross-sectional study, we explore whether and how students' interest in their academic subject affects their career decidedness. Using surveys of 428 undergraduates studying sciences in a UK university (60% F,…

Students in undergraduate Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) programs with an interest in audiology often report feeling unprepared to make career and graduate school decisions due to a lack of exposure to the field. The present study examines the impact of near-peer mentoring and hands-on lab experiences on undergraduate student…

This paper describes an innovative and replicable approach to teaching qualitative research through archived oral histories. Undergraduates with no research experience were able to pursue individual research questions and prepare a public conference presentation within one semester. In so doing, this approach overcame the barrier of a shortened…

The rising number of older adults increases the need for more workers willing and capable of working with the aging population. However, ageism presents a challenging barrier to overcome. This study aimed to determine the relationship between ageism, self-efficacy, and career interest across a semester; the impact of participating in aging-related…

The lack of adequate numbers of people working with older adults in an aging society implies the potential of attracting students from other disciplines to the field. This qualitative study explored the experiences of 52 Chinese psychology students who took a gerontological psychology course designed to prepare them for aging-related careers. As…

Choosing the right career paths relevant to their future is probably one of the most challenging decisions confronting the majority of adolescents. Hence, recognition of the factors affecting students' career decisions is more important than ever. This study aimed to investigate the effects of academic performance and academic self-concept in…

Pre-professional identity (PPI) is an understanding of the skills, qualities, conduct, culture and ideology of a students' intended profession. Understanding PPI is valuable for students and higher-education providers to provide insight into motivation for- and to promote engagement in- learning. Describing PPI is challenging, particularly for…

Times of adversity often require an intentional focus on fostering people's inherent strengths to help them not give up on their life's most cherished aspirations. The outbreak of the Russian war in Ukraine has created unprecedented struggles and uncertainties among the entire Ukrainian population, including college students (Limone et al., 2022).…

To promote diversity in the STEM workforce, undergraduate research training programs incorporating a variety of intervention strategies have been developed to support students from historically underrepresented backgrounds in overcoming numerous systemic barriers to pursuing careers in science. However, relatively little research has focused on…

There is a high need for well-qualified teachers across all STEM content areas, especially in secondary physics. Our work examines why individuals choose to pursue physics teaching. This study, at a primarily undergraduate institution in the Northeastern United States, uses a modified version of Watt and Richardson's Factors Influencing Teacher…

Music teacher attrition represents a serious educational concern, especially among preservice music teachers due to their lack of sufficient occupational identity and commitment. However, factors influencing their decisions on remaining in/leaving the profession are not well understood. This study proposed and empirically tested a psychological…

Sex and gender are important determinants of healthcare that need to be taken into account for medical teaching. Education is more effective if tailored to students' subjectively-perceived needs and connected to their prior knowledge and opinions. This study explored first-year medical students thoughts about sex and gender differences in general…

With the continued shortage of teachers in agricultural education, the teacher preparation faculty in agricultural education at Texas Tech University began a series of investigations evaluating the teacher preparation program. These evaluations sought to identify areas for improvement and determine if elements of the student teaching experience…

Since its development in 2006, the Longitudinal Assessment of Engineering Self-Efficacy (LAESE) V3.0 instrument with six constructs indicated by 31 items has been a popular tool used in engineering education research in the United States. However, there has been lack of validity and reliability evidence in the literature beyond its initial…