Predicting career sector intent and the theory of planned behaviour: survey findings from Australian veterinary science students

Abstract

BackgroundProducing graduates for a breadth of sectors is a priority for veterinary science programs. Undergraduate career intentions represent de-facto ‘outcome’ measures of admissions policy and curricula design, as intentions are strong predictors of eventual behaviour. Informed by Ajzen’s Theory of Planned Behaviour, this study aimed to identify if contextually relevant attitudes and self-ratings affect student intentions for veterinary career sectors.ResultsSurvey responses from 844 students enrolled in five Australian veterinary programs in 2014 were analysed. Intention was measured for biomedical research/academia, industry, laboratory animal medicine, public health/government/diagnostic laboratory services, mixed practice, intensive animal production, companion animal practice, not work in the veterinary profession, and business/entrepreneurship. Hierarchical multiple linear regression analysis enabled comparison of explanation of variance in intent by demographics, animal handling experience, species preference, and attitudes to aspects of veterinary work. Career sector intentions were highest for mixed or companion animal clinical practice, then business/entrepreneurship, then non-clinical sectors. Overall, intent was explained to a greater extent by species preferences than by animal experience, attitudes to aspects of veterinary work and demographics (with the exception of mixed practice intent) with gender having no significant effect. Several variables exerted negative effects on career intent for less popular career sectors.ConclusionAjzen’s Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) provides a framework to increase understanding of and predict career sector intentions. Incorporation of attitude and self-efficacy measures in our study revealed preference for species types contributes greatly to career sector intentions for veterinary students, particularly for the more popular practice based sectors. Importantly, specific species preferences and other attitudes can have a negative effect on intent for non-aligned veterinary sectors. Further research is required to identify additional attitudes and/or beliefs to better explain variance in intent for less popular career sectors. Veterinary admissions processes may benefit from utilising the TPB framework. Identified effects revealed by this study may stimulate innovation in marketing, recruitment, admissions and curricular design, such as timing and role modelling, to utilise positive effects and mitigate against negative effects identified for sectors requiring greater representation of career intent in the student body.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12917-018-1725-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Instructional Leadership Based On Theory Of Planned Behaviors In Improving Nuring Students 'Commulative Achievement Index

“…The results of this study serve as guidelines for veterinary education policy makers in increasing knowledge innovation, recruitment of work midwives, and curriculum design. So that it can design better learning management (Feakes AM, et al, 2019). This research can be concluded that it is suitable and proven to be effective in implementing IL which includes an element of increasing the ability of students both academic and non-academic to realize a good career in the future.…”

Percepciones sobre riesgos ocupacionales en el trabajo con animales y motivaciones de los estudiantes para ingresar a la carrera de veterinaria

“…Una de las prioridades de los programas de ciencias veterinarias es la preparación de graduados para una amplia gama de sectores (Feakes et al, 2019) . Entre ellos, la motivación de los estudiantes es muy alta cuando las actividades involucran la práctica clínica y el trabajo con animales (Parkinson et al, 2006).…”

“…Las intenciones de los estudiantes de veterinaria son fuertes predictores de sus comportamientos futuros (Feakes et al, 2019). Aunque puede no perdurar por largo tiempo luego de graduados (Heath, 2007), la preferencia por los grandes animales productores de alimentos está asociada a las experiencias de los estudiantes previas al ingreso a la carrera (Lenarduzzi et al, 2009).…”

“…Aparte de la experiencia en el manejo de animales o la demografía de los estudiantes, las preferencias por determinadas especies son las que explican la mayor proporción de variación en la intención en trabajar en un sector profesional específico (Feakes et al, 2019). La disminución del número de veterinarios que trabajan con grandes animales de granja, principalmente bovinos y ovinos es motivo de preocupación en muchos países (Lenarduzzi et al, 2009).…”

“…La disminución del número de veterinarios que trabajan con grandes animales de granja, principalmente bovinos y ovinos es motivo de preocupación en muchos países (Lenarduzzi et al, 2009). En tiempos recientes, las intenciones de los estudiantes sobre la futura práctica profesional priorizan la práctica clínica mixta o de animales de compañía y la fauna silvestre (Feakes et al, 2019, Sans et al, 2011. En la FCV UNL el perfil de formación estuvo influenciado por los cambios en los modelos de producción agropecuaria y la demanda de la sociedad que paulatinamente fue dando una mayor importancia a los animales de compañía (Galván et al, 2012).…”