Abstract
Background
Providing effective methods of raising career awareness for nursing students could affect their career self-efficacy and enable them to overcome the potential career barriers.
Aims
The aim of this study was two-fold: (a) to investigate the effect of career-awareness sessions on perceived career and talent development self-efficacy and career barriers among nursing students; and (b) to determine the relationship between career and talent development self-efficacy and career barriers.
Methods
A quasi-experimental research study with one-group, pre-test post-test design was conducted using a convenience sample of nursing students (N = 245) who enrolled in the second year at the Technical Nursing Institute, Alexandria University, Egypt. Career Awareness Sessions (CASs) were introduced to nursing students as the study intervention. The Career and Talent Development Self-Efficacy Scale and the Career Barriers Inventory were used to measure study variables for pre- and post-awareness sessions.
Results
CASs had a significant effect on study variables, where the career and talent development self-efficacy score of nursing students significantly increased after sessions. Also, the career barriers score significantly decreased after sessions (p < 0.001). A significant negative correlation between perceived career and talent development self-efficacy and career barriers was found (p < 0.001).
Conclusions
Nursing curricula should prepare nursing students by offering continuous educational opportunities to assist them in enhancing their talent development self-efficacy needed for their professional roles and to overcome their potential career barriers.
Keywords: career and talent development self-efficacy, career awareness, career barriers, nursing students
Introduction
Nursing is a demanding and multifaceted profession that requires a significant transition as the new graduate nurse evolves into a competent nurse (Lovan, 2009). Changes in nursing and in the health care system have also created an environment where professional resilience and autonomy is essential. Recently, importance has been placed on enhancing students' career development competencies, which comprise knowledge, skills, attitudes, and talent development, that are vital for successful progression in work life. Consequently, career planning and development become an integral part of growing as a professional wherever one lives and works (Fan et al., 2013).
Nursing education can play a great role in fostering students' development of the information and skills required in the practice of nursing, and those capabilities that may offer students the potential throughout their careers to conform to and have an impact on changing scopes of practice, health care needs, and a dynamic health care system. Yet, scant attention has been paid to how nursing education curricula can implement strategies to ensure that new graduates reach their full potential (Waddell et al., 2015).
Study framework
The present study was guided by two conceptualisations of career-related variables, namely, career and talent development self-efficacy and career barriers.
Career and talent development self-efficacy
The career and talent development self-efficacy concept identified by Yuen et al. (2010) was considered as the most appropriate conceptualisation to explore career-related self-efficacy, which was developed based on the self-efficacy theory (Bandura, 1977, 1997). Yuen et al. (2010) depicts career and talent development as an approach to helping students reinforce and make use of their full capabilities to prepare themselves for the required expert skills necessary for working in a particular field. Yuen et al. (2010) recognised self-efficacy, that is one's beliefs about one's own competencies and ability to succeed, as a significant factor affecting career and talent development.
Yuen et al. (2010) operationally identified three areas of life skills development as integral elements to career planning and development: (1) personal development of talents; (2) the acquisition of positive work habits and values; and (3) having an active involvement in career exploration. Personal development of talents speaks to the capacity of students to perceive and build up their abilities to the full. The acquisition of positive work habits and values, such as working consistently without supervision, taking full responsibility for completing tasks, managing time effectively and assisting co-workers when necessary, is important (Flouri and Buchanan, 2002; Yuen et al., 2010). Career exploration indicates the proactive ability to investigate possible future career pathways and to make plans and decisions based on one's knowledge, interests, talents, and capabilities (Yuen et al., 2010; Fan et al., 2013).
Career barriers
Certainly, there are some obstacles to moving forward in career development, such as career barriers. Career barriers mean perceived and experienced challenges in making a career decision (Tak and Lee, 2003). Career barriers can interfere either directly or indirectly in the process of career interests converting to career behaviour and career choice (Son and Son, 2005).
Conceptually, Tak and Lee (2003) identified five categories of career barriers: (1) lack of career information; (2) lack of necessity recognition; (3) lack of self-identity; (4) indecisiveness; and (5) external barriers. Lack of career information represents a need for information about the future career. Lack of necessity recognition implies a lack of recognition about the importance of career choices at the present time. Lack of self-identity represents a need for an understanding of one's interests, needs, and aptitudes. Indecisiveness concerns the students' inability to make decisions. External barriers refer to external constraints that students may face such as parents' opposition, economic difficulties, and so forth.
Significance of the study
Incorporating career planning and development into nursing students' learning experience throughout their academic course is proposed so that students are offered structured and dynamic opportunities to develop career attitudes and competencies (Waddell and Bauer, 2005). Likewise, for effective career education, it is vital to gather the information on how nursing students perceive and cope with career barriers when building a career awareness and planning training courses in nursing education.
Context of the study
The current study targeted a sample of technical nursing students enrolled in a technical Nursing Institute where students were provided with the basic educational nursing programme for 2 years after graduation from a secondary school but were not provided with any courses that focussed on career preparation and planning. This short-coming of the educational nursing programme (whether bachelor or diploma) was suspected to be a major factor contributing to the attitude of student nurses toward their clinical work and career development. This target group rarely searched the literature for the area of career choices and barriers. Each nursing sample could represent a unique perspective from a different context and a variety of settings. As nursing students reach their final year of study, it is predicted that they are getting ready to take on the responsibilities of their career with confidence. However, final year nursing students in the current study during reflection and debriefing sessions revealed that they experienced fear, anxiety, and lack of confidence in fulfilling the expectations and responsibilities of future professional nursing roles. They had experienced negative feelings and many obstacles during their clinical experience that had affected their confidence and desire to continue in nursing as a career. This stimulated the researcher's desire to provide the current nursing students with career-awareness educational sessions to increase their knowledge about how to prepare themselves for future job opportunities and to assess their perception of career and talent development self-efficacy and career barriers before and after attending career awareness sessions.
The relationship between career barriers and the variables contributing to career development have been reported in various research investigations internationally (Lent et al., 2003; Wright et al., 2014; Yoo and Lee, 2009). The findings indicated that perceived career barriers play a significant role in career advancement and highlight the importance of career education. According to the knowledge of the current researcher, there is a scarcity of research on how technical nursing students perceive their career and talent development self-efficacy and career barriers, and how career-based education could affect their perception of these variables in the Arabian context, specifically Egypt. Thus, the present study endeavored to address the lack of knowledge in this area of research by investigating the effect of career awareness sessions (CASs) as an intervention on technical nursing students' perceptions of career and talent development self-efficacy and career barriers. It also aimed to determine to what extent perceived career and talent development self-efficacy relates to career barriers.
Aim of the study
The aim of this study was two-fold: (a) to investigate the effect of CASs on perceived career and talent development self-efficacy and career barriers among nursing students; and (b) to determine the relationship between career and talent development self-efficacy and career barriers.
Research hypotheses
The hypotheses of the study were postulated as follows:
Hypothesis 1: Nursing students' perception of their career and talent development self-efficacy and career barriers will be significantly affected by their participation in career awareness-educational sessions.
Hypothesis 2: There is a significant correlation between nursing students' career and talent development self-efficacy and perceived career barriers.
Methodology
Research design and setting
A quasi-experimental research design was selected for this study using a one-group, pre-test post-test design at the Technical Nursing Institute, Alexandria University, Egypt. The Technical Nursing Institute provides an extensive 2-year educational nursing programme after graduation from secondary school under the supervision of Alexandria University.
Participants and sampling
The subjects of the study constituted a convenient sample of technical nursing students (N = 285) enrolled in their second academic year (2015–2016). These students will be graduates after completion of their current semester and will hold a diploma degree in nursing. Out of the 285 students invited, 245 participated in the study with a response rate of 86.0%. A high response rate was expected as the career-awareness educational sessions were developed based on their identified needs. Out of the rest of the students (40), 15 students were selected for the pilot study: the other 25 students did not participate in the study because of their commitment to other responsibilities or withdrawal after one session and did not complete their responses on the study questionnaires.
Study measurements tools
Four tools were used in the current study:
Demographic characteristics form. A form was developed by the researcher to elicit data on nursing students' demographic characteristics. It included questions related to gender, age and place of residence, time and reason for choosing nursing, satisfaction with nursing as a profession, intention to stay in the profession, and reasons for intention to leave the nursing profession after graduation.
Career and Talent Development Self-Efficacy Scale (CTD-SES). The CTD-SES developed by Yuen et al. (2010) was adapted in this study for assessing nursing students' perception of career and talent development self-efficacy. It consisted of an 18-item scale with three subscales namely: talent development, work habits and values, and career exploration. Six items were allocated to each subscale. Responses were measured on a 6-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (extremely lacking in confidence) to 6 (extremely confident). Higher scores indicated a higher level of confidence in students' ability to execute career and talent development behaviours.
Career Barriers Inventory. Perceived career barriers were measured using the Korean Career Indecision Inventory (K-CII), which was developed by Tak and Lee (2003). The K-CII consisted of 22 items, with five dimensions namely: lack of career information (6 items), lack of necessity recognition (4 items), lack of self-identity (4 items), indecisiveness (4 items), and external barriers (4 items). Responses were measured on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). The higher the score, the higher the level of career barriers perceived by students.
Evaluation of the career awareness sessions. An evaluation tool was developed by the current researcher and included 10 items to assess the effectiveness of CASs from students' points of view. Responses were measured on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). For easier presentation of results, scores were grouped with scores 5 and 4 representing Agree responses, score 3 representing Neutral responses, and scores 1 and 2 representing Disagree responses. Higher scores indicated students' satisfaction with and perceived effectiveness of CASs
Procedures. The study was implemented in five stages: CASs content development, pre-test, intervention application, post-test and data analysis (Exhibition 1). In the first stage, the content of the Career Awareness Sessions (CASs) was developed based on students' needs assessment and Career Development Guidelines (National Career Development Association, 2015), and the findings of the literature reviews of Park (2012, 2015) and Gong et al. (2005). CASs are educational sessions that aimed to raise nursing students' awareness on different nursing career-related issues and how to be prepared for their future work life. CASs covered the following topics: self-assessment (strengths and weaknesses), connecting self-understanding with a nursing career, making career development plans, developing self-promotion skills, writing a résumé, and preparing and rehearsing for job interviews.
In the second stage, the pre-test was performed before the beginning of the sessions using the study tools (CTD-SES and K-CII) to assess students' perceived career and talent development self-efficacy and career barriers before giving the CASs intervention. In the third stage, the career-awareness educational sessions were provided to nursing students. The students were divided into 8 groups, each group included 30-31 students. Each group was provided with three awareness sessions to cover the content. Each session took approximately two hours. A total of 24 sessions were conducted to cover all student groups. The students received basic information and participated in learning discussions and role-playing situations related to the topic, with the researcher's assistance. In the fourth stage, a post-test was done using the study tools (CTD-SES and K-CII) to assess students' perceived career and talent development self-efficacy and career barriers after giving the CASs intervention and to determine how the CAS sessions were aligned with the specific concepts and measures employed in the study. In addition, the developed evaluation form was used to evaluate the CASs at the end of sessions from students' perspectives. Finally, data analysis was conducted. See the study framework in Exhibition 1.
Exhibition 1: Study framework
| Stage | Activity | Tool Used |
|---|---|---|
| Stage 1 | Career awareness sessions (CASs) content development | Career Development Guidelines (2015) and relevant literature |
| Stage 2 | Pre-test | CTD-SES and K-CII |
| Stage 3 | Intervention CASs: (career awareness sessions) | Content: 1. Self-understanding assessment (strength & weakness) 2. Connecting self-understanding with a nursing career 3. Making career development plans 4. Developing self-promotion skills 5. Preparing for job interviews 6. Writing a résumé 7. Rehearsing for a job interview (role playing) |
| Stage 4 | Post-test | CTD-SES, K-CII and evaluation of CASs |
| Stage 5 | Data analysis | • Compare pre-test scores with post-test for CTD-SES and K-CII • Evaluation of CASs • The relationship and regression analysis between scores on CTD-SES and K-CII |
Note: CTD-SES: Career and Talent Development Self-Efficacy Scale; K-CII: Korean Career Indecision Inventory; CASs: Career Awareness Sessions.
Validity and reliability
The study's questionnaires were translated into Arabic and examined for translation, content validity and relevance to Egyptian culture by five experts in the field of study from different academic departments at the Faculty of Nursing, Alexandria University. Then, tools were back-translated into English by language experts. The back-translations were reviewed by the researcher and members of the jury to ensure accuracy and minimise potential threats to the study's validity. CTD-SES, K-CII questionnaires and CASs evaluation forms were examined for reliability by measuring the internal consistency of items using Cronbach's alpha coefficient test. The questionnaires were proved reliable where α = 0.87, 0.82 and 0.93 for CTD-SES, K-CII, and CASs evaluation form, respectively, at a statistical significance level p ≤ 0.05. Also, a pilot study was done on 5% of nursing students that were excluded from the study to: check and ensure clarity and applicability of the tools; identify obstacles and problems that may be encountered during data collection. Accordingly, little rewording was done in the questionnaires.
Data collection
Written approval was obtained from the administrators of the identified setting to collect the necessary data. Data were collected by the researcher using the study questionnaires, which were distributed individually to nursing students before and after career-awareness educational sessions. Each student took approximately 20 minutes to complete all questionnaires. The CASs and data collection were conducted in the predetermined break time in the students’ academic schedule or on non-teaching days. Data were collected in 4 months, from February to May 2016 in the academic year 2015–2016.
Data analysis
Data were coded and entered using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), version 20. Frequency and percentages were used for describing demographic characteristics. Arithmetic means and standard deviations (SD) were used as descriptive statistics for quantifying variables under study. The effects of CASs were analysed with a paired t-test using the pre-test/post-test scores on career and talent development self-efficacy and career barriers. Pearson correlation coefficient analysis (r) was used to test the nature of the relationship between career and talent development self-efficacy and career barriers. Regression analysis (R2) was used to test the predictive power of perceived career barriers on career and talent development self-efficacy. R2 change was tested with the F-test. A significant F-value for R2 meant that the variable significantly improved the prediction. All statistical analyses were performed using an alpha error of p ≤ 0.05; p-values ≤ 0.05 were considered significant.
Results
Participants' demographic characteristics
The highest percentage of nursing students (63.7%) were female, and the average age was 20.02 ± 0.50 years. The majority of nursing students (88.6%) came from rural areas and 86.9% of them decided to choose nursing as a career during the university application season. The primary reasons for choosing nursing as a career were the ease of getting a job (50.2%) followed by liking the profession and serving others (30.2%). The majority of nursing students (81.2%) were satisfied with the nursing profession, and 92.7% of them planned to continue in nursing after graduation. The main reasons for those students who had intentions to leave nursing (7.3%) included: lack of respect for technical nurses compared with professional ones (55.56%), bad nursing image (50.0%), and stressful job (44.44%). For additional information, see Table 1.
Table 1.
Distribution of nursing students according to demographic characteristics (N = 245).
| Demographic data | n | % |
|---|---|---|
| Gender | ||
| Male | 89 | 36.3 |
| Female | 156 | 63.7 |
| Age | ||
| 19 | 21 | 8.6 |
| 20 | 201 | 82.0 |
| 21 | 21 | 8.6 |
| 23 | 2 | 0.8 |
| Min.–Max. | 19.0–23.0 | |
| Mean ± SD | 20.02 ± 0.50 | |
| Place of residence | ||
| Urban | 28 | 11.4 |
| Rural | 217 | 88.6 |
| Time to choose nursing | ||
| Before secondary school | 13 | 5.3 |
| During preparatory grade | 19 | 7.8 |
| University application season | 231 | 86.9 |
| Reason to choose nursing | ||
| Ease of getting jobs | 123 | 50.2 |
| Like the profession, willing to serve | 74 | 30.2 |
| Recommendations from others | 34 | 13.88 |
| Parents' desire | 60 | 24.5 |
| Academic performance | 67 | 27.3 |
| Satisfaction with nursing as a profession | ||
| Satisfied | 199 | 81.2 |
| Dissatisfied | 46 | 18.8 |
| Intention to stay in this profession after graduation | ||
| Yes | 227 | 92.7 |
| No | 18 | 7.3 |
| Reasons for intention to leave nursing profession after graduation (n = 18) | ||
| Lack of respect for technical nurses compared with professional ones | 10 | 55.56 |
| Bad nursing image | 9 | 50.0 |
| Stressful job | 8 | 44.44 |
| Job responsibilities, marriage, children & night shifts | 4 | 22.22 |
SD: standard deviation.
Effects of CASs on perceived career and talent development self-efficacy and career barriers before and after career-awareness sessions
Table 2 displays statistically significant differences between the overall mean score of perceived career and talent development self-efficacy and related dimensions as well as overall career barriers and related dimensions before and after the CASs (p < 0.001). The overall mean score of career and talent development self-efficacy was increased significantly from 2.69 ± 0.52 to 4.45 ± 0.54 (t = 78.390, p < 0.001). The increase seen post-test was reflected in the dimensions of talent development, work values and career exploration. On the other hand, the mean score of overall career barriers decreased from 3.63 ± 0.96 to 2.43 ± 0.80 (t = 14.946, p < 0.001). The decrease seen post-test was also reflected in the dimensions of: lack of career information, lack of self-identity, indecisiveness, lack of necessity recognition and external barriers (p < 0.001).
Table 2.
Mean score of students' career and talent development self-efficacy and perceived career barriers before and after career awareness sessions (N = 245).
| Variables and related dimensions | Pre-test | Post-test | t | p |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean ± SD | Mean ± SD | |||
| Overall career and talent development self-efficacy | 2.69 ± 0.52 | 4.45 ± 0.54 | 78.390 | <0.001a |
| Talent development | 2.64 ± 0.50 | 4.32 ± 0.45 | 64.386 | <0.001a |
| Work habits and values | 2.69 ± 0.46 | 4.59 ± 0.36 | 72.008 | <0.001a |
| Career exploration | 2.74 ± 0.69 | 4.44 ± 0.55 | 39.180 | <0.001a |
| Overall career barriers | 3.63 ± 0.96 | 2.43 ± 0.80 | 14.946 | <0.001a |
| Lack of career information | 3.69 ± 0.55 | 2.60 ± 1.12 | 13.383 | <0.001a |
| Lack of self-identity | 3.74 ± 0.80 | 2.06 ± 1.11 | 19.001 | <0.001a |
| Indecisiveness | 3.75 ± 0.91 | 3.66 ± 1.10 | 11.627 | <0.001a |
| Lack of necessity recognition | 3.80 ± 0.74 | 2.03 ± 1.07 | 21.590 | <0.001a |
| External barriers | 3.52 ± 0.79 | 2.69 ± 1.06 | 9.276 | <0.001a |
SD: standard deviation; t: paired t-test.
Statistically significant at p ≤ 0.05.
Evaluation of CASs
Concerning the overall evaluation of CASs, the majority of nursing students (88.64%) were satisfied with CASs, with a mean score of 4.55 ± 0.52. Most of the nursing students were satisfied with the way the instructor taught in the sessions and the content given. They agreed that sessions clarified their potential career pathway and future role, and teaching materials and resources used in sessions were motivating. For additional information on this evaluation, see Table 3.
Table 3.
Nursing students' overall evaluation of career awareness sessions (N = 245).
| Items of evaluation | Agree |
Neutral |
Disagree |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n | % | n | % | n | % | |
| 1. The teaching sessions clarified my potential career pathway and future role. | 228 | 93.1 | 3 | 1.2 | 14 | 5.7 |
| 2. The sessions increased my strengths and self-awareness. | 226 | 92.2 | 10 | 4.1 | 9 | 3.7 |
| 3. The sessions provided me with a variety of learning materials and activities to promote my future nursing career. | 223 | 91.0 | 12 | 4.9 | 10 | 4.1 |
| 4. I am confident that I am obtaining the required knowledge from these sessions to improve my career. | 226 | 92.2 | 7 | 2.9 | 12 | 4.9 |
| 5. The sessions increased my feeling of pride in my profession and how to overcome career barriers. | 206 | 84.1 | 20 | 8.2 | 19 | 7.8 |
| 6. The teaching methods used in these sessions were helpful and effective. | 206 | 84.1 | 20 | 8.2 | 19 | 7.8 |
| 7. The teaching materials and resources used in these sessions were motivating and helped me to learn. | 228 | 93.1 | 11 | 4.5 | 6 | 2.4 |
| 8. In general, or overall, I am satisfied with these sessions’ teaching and I hope its frequency. | 230 | 93.9 | 10 | 4.1 | 5 | 2.0 |
| 9. I enjoyed how my instructor taught the sessions. | 227 | 92.7 | 12 | 4.9 | 6 | 2.4 |
| 10. The way my instructor taught the sessions was suitable to the way I learn. | 234 | 95.5 | 5 | 2 | 6 | 2.4 |
| Overall evaluation of career-awareness sessions (intervention) |
Min.–Max. |
Mean ± SD | ||||
| Mean score | 1.90–5.0 | 4.55 ± 0.52 | ||||
| Mean per cent score | 22.50–100.0 | 88.64 ± 13.09 | ||||
SD: standard deviation.
Correlation between career and talent development self-efficacy and career barriers
Table 4 shows that there is a statistically significant negative correlation between career and talent development self-efficacy and career barriers (r = −0.316, p < 0.001) before conducting the CAS intervention. After conducting the CAS intervention, there was still a negative correlation between them but this was not significant (r = −0.029, p < 0.650). As a result of hierarchical regression analysis, Table 5 shows that the value of R2 of overall perceived career barriers can predict 49.5% of the variance in career and talent development self-efficacy. This was a statistically significant contribution as indicated by the significant F-value (F = 46.779, p < 0.001). ‘Lack of career information’ as a career barrier plays a significant role in this prediction (p < 0.001).
Table 4.
Correlation between career and talent development self-efficacy with career barriers pre- and post-career awareness sessions intervention.
| Variables | Pre-intervention | Post-intervention | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Career and talent development self-efficacy | r | −0.316 | −0.029 |
| Career barriers | p | <0.001a | 0.650 |
r: Pearson coefficient.
Statistically significant at p ≤ 0.05.
Table 5.
Hierarchical regression analysis between career barriers and career and talent development self-efficacy.
| Career barriers | Beta | t | p |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lack of career information | –0.725 | 4.713 | 0.001a |
| External barriers | –0.101 | 1.493 | 0.137 |
| Indecisiveness | –0.053 | 0.765 | 0.445 |
| Lack of necessity recognition | 0.004 | 0.059 | 0.953 |
| Lack of self-identity | 0.003 | 0.039 | 0.969 |
R = 0.703, R2 = 0.495, adj. R2 = 0.484, F = 46.779.
Beta: the estimate; SE: standard error; t: t-test value; r: Pearson correlation coefficient; R2: regression coefficient; F: F-test (ANOVA).
Statistically significant at p ≤ 0.05.
Discussion
The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of CASs on nursing students' perception of career and talent development self-efficacy and career barriers. The results revealed that the score of overall career and talent development self-efficacy as well as the sub-dimensions (talent development, work habits and values, and career exploration) showed statistically significant improvement after students' participation in CASs. Also, the career barriers score significantly decreases after CASs, specifically ‘lack of necessity recognition and lack of self-identity’ dimensions. Despite this, career and talent development self-efficacy does not seem amenable to change through short-term education, and it was not certain that the CASs alone were responsible for the changes in study variables. However, to ascertain the effect of CASs, the researcher confirmed that no career-related programme had been previously carried out in the study setting and that no participants had taken part in a career programme during their academic study. Thus, it can be presumed that the information gained from CASs could help students to develop a positive sense of self-efficacy and confidence to determine the optimum pathway to their career goal, and to develop their talents and potential by decreasing their perception of career barriers. This result could be supported by students' responses and positive evaluation of career-awareness sessions in the current study, which indicated that the majority were satisfied with the CASs. The overall results indicate that career awareness can be an effective way of providing career education to nursing students. The majority of students agreed that CASs provided them with significant information about nursing as a career; enabled them to reflect on both the positive and negative feelings they experienced during their learning and clinical training experience; and helped them to be aware of their personal strengths and weaknesses. This finding provides support for hypothesis 1 and shows that career-related efficacy and barriers can be changed through career education.
This result supports the findings from several other studies that investigated the effect of career education. Park (2015, 2012) found that a career education course increased students' perceptions of career search self-efficacy and career-preparation behaviours, and career barrier scores significantly decreased and the perception of the lack of career information showed a drastic decrease after a career training course. He suggested that career courses providing practical information relating to the major taken and career-related activities induced career-related behavioural changes in the students. Reddan (2015) indicated positive trends in nursing students' perceptions of the benefits of career-education-courses for enhancing their career decision self-efficacy. Further, Kim et al. (2014) revealed a positive effect of introducing career programme content on nursing students' self-efficacy and career attitude maturity. In this respect, Rambur et al. (2005) suggested that early development of career-building skills had the potential to positively impact both career-development competency and overall career satisfaction. Consequently, it behoves nurse educators to develop the expertise to integrate innovative strategies into the curriculum aimed at fostering the capacity of students and graduates to survive and thrive at all stages of the career continuum. On the contrary, Fouad et al. (2009) reported no change in perceived career barrier scores of students after taking the college career course. Thus, further research is recommended to conduct longitudinal and curriculum-based career planning and development programmes throughout and following graduation from the nursing programme to provide more validation about the relationship between career barriers and career-education interventions.
Correlation and regression analysis revealed a significant negative correlation between career and talent development self-efficacy and perceived career barriers. Also, perceived career barriers can significantly predict 49.5% of career and talent development self-efficacy among nursing students; specifically ‘lack of career information barrier’ can play a significant role in this prediction. This finding provides support for hypothesis 2 and suggested that career barriers perceived by nursing students could lessen their career and talent development self-efficacy and the lower perceived career barriers, the higher students' career and talent development self-efficacy. Previous studies reported similar results. For example, Wright et al. (2014) revealed that participants with higher perceived barriers were negatively related to academic self-efficacy and career decision self-efficacy. Also, two studies conducted by Ali et al. (2005) and McWhirter et al. (2000) found the same relationship, that a high perception of barriers was associated with lower self-efficacy.
In this respect, Lee et al. (2008) reported that awareness of students' unique career-barriers profile could offer significant assistance in uncovering both individual and environmental contributors and offer assistance in devising specific intervention strategies. In order to advance the profession and provide excellent patient care, Bellfield and Gessner (2010) recommended that barriers that hinder nurses from advanced education should be identified and then properly address and overcome them during career development. In contrast, an unexpected aspect of the findings of Townsel's study (2012) was that the perception of barriers was the most influential predictor of self-efficacy and that a higher level of perceived barriers was associated with higher career self-efficacy. They suggested that people who preserve a high degree of efficacy for career achievement expect more obstacles and perceive them as an essential task to be overcome.
Study strengths and limitations
Despite the current research, indicating that career-related educational activities emerged as being effective in enhancing the career awareness of nursing students several limitations of this study should be highlighted. First, the result cannot be generalised due to the use of a convenience sample from one institute with no control group. Also, since there was no random assignment to the intervention, the researcher cannot exclude other factors that may have affected observed change in perceived career self-efficacy and career barriers. To minimise threats to internal validity such as history, the researcher confirmed that no career-related programme had been previously carried out in the institute and that no participants had taken part in a career programme during the study period. However, the present study could not control for maturation effects. Because the external factors that might affect the results were not taken into consideration, these results must be carefully considered before they are generalised to other situations. Finally, all measures were obtained by self-report questionnaires, which may inflate ratings and correlations.
Conclusion
In summary, there were several important findings from this study. The findings suggest and provide evidence for the significant effect of career awareness and education on promoting and enhancing career and talent development self-efficacy of nursing students and decreasing the perception of career barriers. In addition, the study points out that perceived career barriers can play a significant role in predicting career and talent development self-efficacy among nursing students. It is important to understand the value of a career path and the obstacles from a student's perspective to overcoming these barriers during career development and employment. By adjusting barriers through suitable educational activities and courses, students' career self-efficacy should increase, enabling them to meet their career goals. In addition, the results of the current study highlight the importance of faculty expertise in fostering students' ability to take charge of their career planning and develop a sense of career resilience in their academic and professional practice. Finally, the design and effects of career courses require further research to examine whether they are adept at improving career-related cognition and behaviour.
Recommendations
Based on the study findings, the following recommendations were suggested;
Nursing curricula should prepare nursing students and graduates by offering systematic and continuous career-educational opportunities to assist them in choosing career paths that match their interests and professional roles.
Nurse educators should develop the expertise to integrate innovative strategies into the curriculum aimed at fostering the capacity of students and graduates to survive and thrive at all stages of the career continuum.
Career barriers and obstacles that hinder nursing students, as well as nurses' career development, should be identified and properly addressed through the implementation of effective interventions that help students overcome their career barriers.
Future research implications
To address some of the shortcomings of the present study, further research is required to validate the effect of career-education and awareness courses on improving career-related cognition and behaviors. Replication of this study in a wider context and using a control group could help with the generalisation of findings. As this study could be a preliminary step for further research, another important recommendation is to apply longitudinal and curriculum-based career planning and development programmes that expand to include prepared faculty career coaches and measure outcomes similar to or the same as those of interest in the present study. Furthermore, other career-related variables such as academic achievement or work adjustment and different career barriers throughout and following graduation from the nursing programme would provide better data validation than the current study.
Key points for policy, practice and/or research
Career development is an integral part of developing as a professional.
Career awareness and education help in promoting and enhancing career and talent development self-efficacy.
Career awareness and education help in decreasing the perception of career barriers.
Career barriers can significantly predict career and talent development self-efficacy.
Nursing education can play a significant role in fostering students' development of the knowledge and skills related to the practice of nursing.
Biography
Ebtsam Aly Abou Hashish completed her PhD from the Faculty of Nursing, Alexandria University, Egypt. She is now an Assistant Professor of Nursing Management and Leadership in the College of Nursing, King Saud bin Abdul-Aziz University for Health Sciences, Jeddah, KSA, and an Assistant Professor of Nursing Administration at the Faculty of Nursing, Alexandria University, Egypt. She teaches management-related courses, research and ethics courses for undergraduates and post-graduates as well as participating in supervising theses and dissertations as an academic supervisor. She also holds an associated trainer degree from the Faculty and Leadership Development Center (FLDC), Alexandria University. She has published more than 15 articles and serves as an editorial board member and reviewer.
Declaration of conflicting interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Ethics
Approval was obtained from the Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Nursing, Alexandria University. The privacy and confidentiality of data were maintained and assured by getting participants' consent to participate in the research before data collection. They had the right to withdraw from the study at anytime.
Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
References
- Ali SR, McWhirter EH, Chronister KM. (2005) Self efficacy and vocational outcome expectations for adolescents of lower socioeconomic status: A pilot study. Journal of Career Assessment 13(1): 40–58. [Google Scholar]
- Bandura A. (1977) Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychological Review 84(2): 191–215. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Bandura A. (1997) Self-efficacy: The Exercise of Control, New York, NY: W.H. Freeman. [Google Scholar]
- Bellfield S and Gessner G (2010) Factors influencing the advancement of professional education of nurses at a magnet hospital. Published thesis, School of Nursing & Health Studies Georgetown University, Washington, DC.
- Fan W, Hao D, Yuen M. (2013) Psychometric properties of the Career and Talent Development Self-Efficacy Scale when used with university students in China. Asian Journal of Counseling 20(1 & 2): 59–84. [Google Scholar]
- Flouri E, Buchanan A. (2002) The role of work-related skills and career role models in adolescent career maturity. Career Development Quarterly 51(1): 36–43. [Google Scholar]
- Fouad N, Cotter W, Kantamneni N. (2009) The effectiveness of a career decision-making course. Journal of Career Assessment 17(3): 338. [Google Scholar]
- Gong YJ, Song MR, Kim MH, et al. (2005) A needs assessment of career services for college students. Korean Journal of Counseling 6(2): 435–447. [Google Scholar]
- Kim J, Han S, Han W, et al. (2014) The Effects of nursing introduction content on career attitude maturity and self-efficacy of first year students. The Journal of the Korea Institute of Electronic Communication Sciences (JKIECS) 9(3): 285–296. [Google Scholar]
- Lee H, Yu K, Lee S. (2008) A typology of career barriers. Asia-Pacific Journal of Education Review 9(2): 157–167. [Google Scholar]
- Lent RW, Brown SD, Schmidt J, et al. (2003) Relation of contextual supports and barriers to choice behavior in engineering majors: test of alternative social cognitive models. Journal of Counseling Psychology 50(4): 458–465. [Google Scholar]
- Lovan S (2009) Comparing perceptions of the nursing profession among associate and baccalaureate nursing students and registered nurses. PhD thesis, College of Education and Behavioral Sciences, University of Louisville, USA.
- McWhirter H, Rasheed S, Crothers M. (2000) The effects of high school career education on social cognitive variables. Journal of Counseling Psychology 47(3): 330–341. [Google Scholar]
- National Career Development Association (2015) National career development guidelines. Available at: https://www.ncda.org/aws/NCDA/pt/sp/guidelines (accessed 10 October 2018).
- Park S. (2012) The effects of career education on career development for nursing students. Journal of Korean Academic Social Nursing 18(2): 259–267. [Google Scholar]
- Park S. (2015) Effects of discipline-based career course on nursing students' career search self-efficacy, career preparation behavior, and perceptions of career barriers. Asian Nursing Research 9(3): 259–264. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Rambur B, McIntosh B, Palumbo M, et al. (2005) Education as a determinant of career retention and job satisfaction among registered nurses. Journal of Nursing Scholarship 37: 185–192. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Reddan G. (2015) Enhancing students' self-efficacy in making positive career decisions. Asia-Pacific Journal of Cooperative Education 16(4): 291–300. [Google Scholar]
- Son Y, Son H. (2005) The Korean college students' career decision and career preparation behavior from the perspective of social cognitive career theory. Korean Journal of Counseling and Psychotherapy 17(2): 399–417. [Google Scholar]
- Tak J, Lee K. (2003) Development of Korean career indecision inventory. Journal of Career Assessment 11(3): 328–345. [Google Scholar]
- Townsel N (2012) Racial identity attitudes, perceived barriers, career self-efficacy, and career outcome expectations among African American male adolescents. PhD thesis, College of Education and Human Development, University of Louisville, USA.
- Waddell J, Bauer M. (2005) CPD for students: Building a career in a professional practice discipline. Canadian Journal of Career Development 4(2): 4–13. [Google Scholar]
- Waddell J, Spalding K, Canizares G, et al. (2015) Integrating a career planning and development program into the baccalaureate nursing curriculum: Part I. Impact on students' career resilience. International Journal of Nursing Education Scholarship 24(12): 162–173. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Wright L, Perrone-McGovern M, Boo N, et al. (2014) Influential factors in academic and career self-efficacy: attachment, supports, and career barriers. Journal of Counseling & Development 92(1): 36–46. [Google Scholar]
- Yoo N, Lee H. (2009) The effect of career barriers on career decision making self-efficacy mediated by active stress-coping. Korea Journal of Counseling 10(4): 2241–2255. [Google Scholar]
- Yuen M, Geysers C, Chan C, et al. (2010) Talent development, work habits, and career exploration of Chinese middle-school adolescents: Development of the Career and Talent Development Self-Efficacy Scale. High Ability Studies 21(1): 47–62. [Google Scholar]