States and school districts in the USA have begun to create and implement curriculum to promote elementary students' nascent STEM-related interests and to generate their initial knowledge of careers in those fields. Evaluating the efficacy of such interventions warrants valid and reliable tools, which are not presently available for middle…

Computer science (CS) education has experienced rapid growth over the past decade with student demand leading to new courses or course pathways being offered in K-12 educational settings. Student demand has been matched by parent/community and technology industry support. Educators have quickly responded to the demand by expanding course…

This paper presents findings of an investigation on students' attitudes towards coding and its relationship with interest in STEM-related careers. A concurrent mixed-method research design involving a pre-intervention-intervention-post-intervention non-equivalent control group was adopted. A sample of 50 grade seven to nine South African students…

Social cognitive career theory posits that career interests and decisions are influenced by individual, contextual, and behavioural factors. This research aims to assess the impact of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) activities on students' interest and aspirations in STEM careers. Additionally, the study aims to explore…

We investigated (a) the fit and structural equivalence of Holland's model of six vocational personality types in a sample of South African men (n = 139) and women (n = 268) using the South African Career Interest Inventory, and (b) mean score differences for men and women on these types. The results supported the fit and structural similarity of…

A public accountant becomes one of the graduate profiles of the undergraduate accounting students at Maranatha Christian University. To decide on a career as a public accountant, ideally, the students have to possess the investigative or conventional personality as the primary code of Holland, besides carrier prospect. If they do not have one of…

For national education systems, the goal of an effective teacher recruitment strategy is not simply to attract more applicants, but to attract high-quality applicants who are well suited to teaching and are likely to remain in the profession. The goal of this article is to examine teacher recruitment strategies in England and to propose new models…

Each student faces the challenge of choosing a study program that matches his or her vocational interest. A good person-environment fit (PE fit) between student and study program influences study success and persistence, prerequisites to obtaining the desired degree. But which criterion should be used when presenting advice sets of study options…

Society is increasingly dependent on science and technology. STEM careers are growing at rates faster than the general economy. STEM careers require individuals with advanced training in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The study of physics is a gatekeeper on the path to these challenging and rewarding STEM careers. One…

Job opportunities in the United States are growing, but there are not enough interested or qualified workers to fill them. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is also transforming the future of work, bringing both innovation and uncertainty and emphasizing the growing need to equip students with adaptable, future-ready skills. This report advocates for…

Flexibility is considered one of the key resources for a successful adaptation to the world of work. It has also been defined as "the positive side" of career reconsideration process in vocational identity theory. However, previous empirical observations conducted in the Italian context have highlighted the negative relationship between…

Cognitive abilities and interests both play an important role in guiding knowledge acquisition, but most previous studies have examined them separately. The current study used a large and representative dataset to integrate interests and abilities using a person-centered approach that examines how distinct profiles of interests and abilities…

Community college students face difficulties in mathematics courses and may not understand the relevance of the topics they are learning to their intended career. When such connections are not made, mathematics courses can become barriers to pursuit of careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). In the present study, we…

This qualitative study examined a group of aspiring teachers who completed a pre-collegiate Grow Your Own (GYO) teacher program. The goals of the GYO program were to recruit and introduce high school students to the teaching profession and facilitate their transition to a teacher education program and eventually back to teaching in their…

The aim of this study is to examine the effect of mobile learning supported science teaching on eighth grade students' Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics fields and Information Technologies Self-Efficacy and to determine students' views on this process. For this purpose, a quasi-experimental design with pre-test post-test control…