Self-efficacy in career planning: a new approach to career exploration

Abstract

Abstract

Through two consecutive studies we attempted to explore the beliefs of personal efficacy in respect to one’s career and in relation to the continuously evolving patterns in career planning as these issues seem to have consequences to theory and research of career counseling as well as to the use of psychometric tools. The model describing these beliefs originally described theoretically was tested psychometrically arriving at a 21-item Perceived Self-Efficacy in Career Scale (PSECS) through Study 1, mainly through item analysis and exploratory factor analysis methods, imposed on adults' data (N=126); we then subjected PSECS to confirmatory analysis testing on high-school students' data (N=276). The exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses supported 4 dimensions, namely Career Management, Career Skills, Flexibility at Work, and Creativity at Work. PSECS should offer an additional perspective for counseling about the way individuals evaluate their skills related to career and also contribute to advancing theoretical statements related to how people plan and adjust their career within a changing economic landscape.

Keywords:

Self-efficacy, perceived career self-efficacy, career skills, item-analysis methods, concurrent validity.