Hello, everyone. I am Ozaki, a first-year Master’s student. In this article, I would like to introduce the content and my thoughts regarding a paper discussed in our English Literature Seminar.
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Paper Title: Youth STEM career choices: What’s influencing secondary students’ decision making
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Publication: Issues in Educational Research
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Volume & Pages: 30(2), 593-611
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Year of Publication: 2020
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Authors: Murcia Karen, Coral Pepper, and John Williams.
Challenges Demand for learning related to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) has been heating up year after year. The authors state that adolescence (roughly age 15) is a critical period for establishing one’s own career-related goals, and it is necessary to clarify what kind of learning environments influence career choices regarding STEM.
Preceding Research According to Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT), career choice behavior is influenced by interests and self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is also said to be influenced by environmental factors such as vicarious learning (observing others’ experiences) and social persuasion (encouragement and support from those around you).
Research Purpose and Methods
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Purpose: To investigate factors influencing young people’s choices regarding STEM careers based on Social Cognitive Career Theory.
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Subjects: Students interested in STEM subjects and careers, parents, and career counselors from three secondary schools in Australia.
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Method: Semi-structured interviews for each group.
Results After coding the conversations, four major themes were identified across the interview data:
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Influences on STEM Career Choice: Students highly valued parental support and intended to pursue STEM careers that aligned with their strengths and interests at school.
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Access to STEM Resources and Support: Information provided by guest speakers and others facilitated meaningful conversations and the development of self-efficacy.
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Emphasis on STEM Careers: There were almost no concerns related to gender.
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Envisioning the Future of STEM Careers: It was recommended to integrate career education into other subjects.
Conclusion Students reported being grateful for teacher-led lessons with a STEM focus and face-to-face interactions with experts, which continued to boost their self-efficacy. On the other hand, it was suggested that early childhood experiences (such as visiting science centers) do not necessarily lead directly to future career choices, and that timing is crucial.
Personal Thoughts I read this paper because I wanted to investigate qualitative research methods and trends in career education for my own research. The flow and methods of collecting, analyzing, and interpreting multifaceted data from a small number of people were very helpful. Reflecting on my own research, I felt the need to think more deeply about the rationale for setting subjects, the combination of quantitative and qualitative data, and how to utilize ICT to produce new results.
