Career Goals, Self-Efficacy and Persistence in Engineering Students

Research connected on both career goals and self efficacy has linked each to the persistence of undergraduate students in engineering programs: self-efficacy through numerous qualitative and quantitative studies, and career goals through a recently conducted study. Additionally, research suggests that self-efficacy plays a role in the goals that individuals set, and whether they persist towards the accomplishment of those goals. In this work in progress study, we focus on how those relationships can provide researchers and educators with new ways of considering factors related to persistence in engineering programs. In this paper, we discuss results from a piloted survey, and their meaning for continued research. Initial results revealed a relationship between career goals and self-efficacy. Self-efficacy for persistence correlated significantly (p < 0.05) to ambiguity that students have about their career goals. The next investigative steps in this study will include the collection of additional interview data. New interview data will help us build more of an understanding of how self-efficacy and career goals relate. After an interview protocol has been created, future work will focus on comparing career goals and self-efficacy to persistence data.