Evaluation of an assessment measuring undergraduate biology students’ self-efficacy and outcome expectations related to career development

Improving the rate at which individuals enter STEM careers remains a national concern. STEM fields are currently facing a crisis with respect to filling jobs with qualified workers, suggesting that STEM jobs are available yet remain open and waiting for qualified graduates. While researchers have previously investigated variables, such as demographics and attrition rates for the lack of STEM graduates available to fill job vacancies in the STEM workforce, there is a critical need for additional research examining the impact of structured career development. In this article, we describe the development and evaluation of an assessment designed to measure career self-efficacy and career outcome expectations, two central factors of Social Cognitive Career Theory, and present evidence of validity in our population of students. The assessment was administered to students attending an R1 Hispanic Serving Institution in the southeastern United States during Spring 2022 (n = 600). Factor analysis indicated a one-factor self-efficacy and three-factor outcome expectation assessments. For self-efficacy, item-level analysis is presented and leveraged to further understand student career self-efficacy behaviors. Results support the potential use of the assessment for measuring undergraduate biology students’ progress related to career development.