SOURCES OF TRANSITION-TO-WORK SELF-EFFICACY: CAREER EXPLORATION AND SOCIAL SUPPORT

Abstract

"Success in the transition from higher education to work is influenced by an array of factors associated with the individual, his/her context, as well as their interaction. The Social Cognitive Transition-to-Work (SCTW) Model conceptually organizes the complexity of this transition and provides directions for research in this area. Previous longitudinal studies based on SCTW Model have shown that transition-to-work self-efficacy predicts several career success indicators. Among these, career satisfaction, salary and job satisfaction may be identified. Bandura´s Social Cognitive Theory identifies self-efficacy sources. When the transition-to-work process is considered, career exploration and social support are identified as potential self-efficacy sources. The present study aims to assess if career exploration and social support are associated with transition-to-work self-efficacy. Three-hundred and thirty-seven final year undergraduate students from a Public Higher Education in Northern Portugal participated in the study (67% female; median age = 23; standard deviation = ±7). Career Exploration was measured with a 7-items Likert-type scale. Social Support was measured with a 22-items Likert-type scale distributed in three dimensions: family, teachers and peers. Transition-to-Work Self-efficacy was measured with a 28-items Likert-type scale that includes three dimensions: job-search behaviours, job-search emotional regulation and adaptation-to-work. All measures presented adequate reliability values. As expected, results showed moderate to large positive associations among career exploration, social support and transition-to-work self-efficacy. The regression analysis model explained 32% of the variance. The strongest transition-to-work self-efficacy predictors were family social support and career exploration. These results highlight key transition-to-work contextual factors that have implications for both intervention and research in the career domain. Higher education institutions may plan and implement psycho-educational interventions to develop transition-to-work self-efficacy among higher education students. Namely, considering that career exploration may act as a self-efficacy source, creating ways to improve career exploration probably will enhance students’ transition-to-work self-efficacy. In terms of research, results gave support to the Social Cognitive Transition-to-Work (SCTW) Model as a useful conceptual tool to further guide future research."