The Origin of Major Choice, Academic Commitment, and Career-Decision Readiness Among Taiwanese College Students

• Published in: The Career development quarterly 2015-06, Vol.63 (2), p.156-170
• Main Authors: Liao, Chen Ning, Ji, Chang-Ho
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Academic aspiration; academic commitment; Analysis; Asian students; Career Choice; career self-efficacy; career-decision readiness; Careers; college major choice; College students; Decision making; Families & family life; High School Graduates; Higher education; Learning; Majors (Students); Perceptions; Preferences; Psychological aspects; Reputations; Student aspirations; Studies; Theory; Vocational guidance
• ISSN: 0889-4019; 2161-0045
• DOI: 10.1002/cdq.12011

The present study aimed to examine if and how career‐decision readiness relates to the origin of college major choice among Taiwanese college students. A total of 375 junior and senior college students (147 women, 228 men) responded to measures of college major choice, academic commitment, career self‐efficacy, and career‐decision readiness. Results indicated that students' academic commitment to a college major tend to increase when they choose their majors based on personal and career preferences. In sequence, high levels of academic commitment lead to high levels of career self‐efficacy, and increased self‐efficacy augments the extent of career‐decision readiness that students manifest near the end of their college education. These findings have practical implications insofar as many Asian students choose a college major because of parents and other authority figures, and these findings demonstrate that a full understanding of career‐decision readiness may require incorporating the origin of college major choice and its academic effects into future research.