Elliott, J W; Thevenin, M K and Lopez del Puerto, C (2016) Role of gender and industry experience in construction management student self-efficacy, motivation, and planned behavior. International Journal of Construction Education and Research, 12(1), pp. 3-17. ISSN 1557-8771
Abstract
The construction management (CM) profession is projected to grow over the next several years and a bachelor's degree coupled with industry experience produces the best CM employment prospects. Many CM undergraduate programs boast job placement rates of 90% to 100%, suggesting an unmet demand for graduates. Females are the largest untapped source of labor for the construction industry, yet are underrepresented at 6% to 10% of CM professionals and undergraduates. A young adult's decisions regarding career pathways and college attendance depend on several factors, including one's sense of self-worth. Self-efficacy and motivation are predictors of students' educational pursuits, persistence, and performance. This study investigated undergraduate CM students' (n = 587) construction education domain-level self-efficacy (CESE), motivation (CEM), and planned behavior (CEPB) by gender, as well as level of hands-on and management-based construction experience. Results of the t-test revealed the female CM students had higher CEM than their male counterparts (p = .025). ANOVA indicated student with hands-on and management-based construction experience reported higher level of CESE than those without experience (p = .002 and p = .027, respectively). ANOVA post-hoc analysis, study implication and limitations, as well as opportunities for further research are discussed.;The construction management (CM) profession is projected to grow over the next several years and a bachelor's degree coupled with industry experience produces the best CM employment prospects. Many CM undergraduate programs boast job placement rates of 90% to 100%, suggesting an unmet demand for graduates. Females are the largest untapped source of labor for the construction industry, yet are underrepresented at 6% to 10% of CM professionals and undergraduates. A young adult's decisions regarding career pathways and college attendance depend on several factors, including one's sense of self-worth. Self-efficacy and motivation are predictors of students' educational pursuits, persistence, and performance. This study investigated undergraduate CM students' (n = 587) construction education domain-level self-efficacy (CESE), motivation (CEM), and planned behavior (CEPB) by gender, as well as level of hands-on and management-based construction experience. Results of the t-test revealed the female CM students had higher CEM than their male counterparts (p = .025). ANOVA indicated student with hands-on and management-based construction experience reported higher level of CESE than those without experience (p = .002 and p = .027, respectively). ANOVA post-hoc analysis, study implication and limitations, as well as opportunities for further research are discussed.;
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | planned behavior; construction management; graduates; self-efficacy; motivation; gender; higher education; college graduates; construction industry |
| Index terms: | profession, undergraduate, planned behaviour, self-efficacy, construction industry, higher education, employment, program, career, construction education, college graduate, placement, motivation |
| Subjects: | curriculum development, psychology, human factors and perception, institututions, behavioral psychology, industry analysis, professional education, sociology, educational institutions, professional development, software systems, management |
| Topics: | Digital Applications, Human Resources, Education, Information Management, Research Practice, Roles and Professions, Stakeholder Management |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCT |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here