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Thinking Critically About Careers in Psychology
The CDMSE-SF (Betz, Klein, & Taylor, 1996; Betz & Taylor, 2006) consists of
25 self-report items that measure an individual’s degree of belief that he or she can
successfully complete tasks necessary to making career decisions. Because self-efficacy is
defined relative to competence in specific behavioral domains, Betz et al. (1996) used the
five career choice competencies identified in Crites’s (1978) model to define and opera-
tionalize five domains of competent career decision making. Thus the CDMSE-SF
includes five subscales (with five items in each subscale) that include self-reports of behav-
iors pertinent to accurate self-appraisal, gathering occupational information, goal selec-
tion, making plans for the future, and problem solving. Responses are obtained using a
5-point confidence scale, ranging from No Confidence at All (1) to Complete Confidence
(5). The CDMSE-SF has satisfactory reliability, with coefficient alpha of .95 (Betz &
Taylor, 2006) and 6-week test–retest coefficient of .83 (Luzzo, 1993).
The analysis of PMQ data presented here combines the findings from students
enrolled in the first two semesters that the careers course was offered (Fall, 2005 and
Spring, 2006). Scores on the PMQ were significantly higher at the end of the term
(M = 110.4, SD = 20.4) than at the beginning of the term (M = 90.9, SD = 13.9),
t(103) = 8.61, p < .001, suggesting significant improvement in self-reported academic
skill and knowledge about the major. Posttest scores on the PMQ were positively
related to posttest scores on the CDMSE-SF, r(85) = .31, t(85) = 3.01, p < .003, sug-
gesting that career self-efficacy is significantly related to self-reported knowledge about
the major. Analysis of pretest and posttest data on the CDMSE-SF was limited to data
obtained during the Spring term because this measure was administered only as a post-
test in the Fall term. Scores on the CDMSE-SF were significantly higher at the end of
the term (M = 108.1, SD = 5.6) than at the beginning of the term (M = 96.5, SD = 4.4),
t(18) = 2.32, p < .03, suggesting significant improvement in self-reported career decision-
making self-efficacy.
The instructor modified the course between the Fall and Spring terms to provide stu-
dents with additional information about the nature of a mastery-model course and empha-
size the need to continue taking exams until the mastery criterion score is attained. This
modification included a revision of the introductory material in the first module to include
a description of characteristics of the course that require students to maintain consistent
engagement with the course (e.g., to participate effectively in threaded discussions and
contribute to course activities that would be available online for limited time intervals).
This information emphasized the need for students to log into the course regularly and
monitor their progress throughout the course.
Because the online course system at UWF does not record login data for courses
separately, data on student logins specific to this course were not available. However, the
system does record combined login data for all courses that include an online component
(fully online courses and blended courses) in which a student is enrolled. If we assume that
students enrolled in the careers course were comparable in the extent to which online
technology was required for their other courses during each of these two semesters, an
increase in the frequency of recorded logins might represent the success of these course
revisions in promoting increased student engagement and success in the course. The
average number of course logins increased from the Fall term (M = 108.75, SD = 70.48,
range = 14 to 453) to the Spring term (M = 160.3, SD = 154.46, range = 33 to 795).