Choosing the right career paths relevant to their future is probably one of the most challenging decisions confronting the majority of adolescents. Hence, recognition of the factors affecting students’ career decisions is more important than ever. This study aimed to investigate the effects of academic performance and academic self-concept in relation to career decision-making among UPM undergraduate students. A quantitative research design using a questionnaire was utilised. The questionnaire, one touching on academic self-concept and the other on career decision-making, was disseminated to the respondents via emails and through social network services in the form of Google Forms. For data on academic performance, the researcher based it on the students’ current Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) results. The Multi-stage cluster sampling method was employed to a total of 171 final-year undergraduates from Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM). The data were analysed using SmartPLS 3. The result of partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) revealed that the students’ academic self-concept directly and significantly affects their career decision-making. However, there is no direct relationship between academic performance and career decision-making. This study found that developing students’ academic self-concept can assist them to decide on their career paths.
Keywords: Academic achievement, Academic self-concept, Career choice, Higher education
Personality traits have been consistently proven to have an extent of influence on individual's behavior, emotion, and cognition. In the university setting, various studies noted different personality traits predispose students to varied academic preference and performance, decision making styles, probability of obtaining a university degree, and furthermore, happiness. The purpose of this review was to explore how university students' personality traits were investigated in past research and the effects that comes with different personality traits. Precisely, this literature review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Studies which assigned personality traits as an independent variable among university students in Malaysia and published from the year 2013 to 2022 were included. The initial search retrieved 668 articles, with 21 articles included in this review. Summarily, this review found evidence that personality traits are not limited to The Big-Five categories as personality traits have been investigated within different epistemologies. Within the context of university students in Malaysia, personality traits predispose certain outcomes such academic performance, motivation, coping strategies, language learning, level of stress, and happiness. These outcomes, however, could be influenced by other underlying affects and mediators. This review could provide utility to university students, tertiary educational institutions, mental health institutions and other related bodies not only in the assessment of personality traits and their effects, but also in recognizing personality traits as one of university students' inextricable assets.
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