SELF-EFFICACY AND GOAL ORIENTATION AS PREDICTORS OF PERSISTENCE IN WORK-INTEGRATED LEARNING AMONG BUSINESS EDUCATION STUDENTS

Abstract

The rapidly evolving nature of the global labour market has intensified expectations for higher education institutions to adopt Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) to bridge academic learning and workplace practice to prepare students for successful career transitions. However, many students struggle to persist through the demands of WIL. This prompted this study to identify some psychological factors (self – efficacy and goal – orientation) that may predict persistence.  Three research questions guided the study. The study adopted a correlational survey research design. The study was carried out in Anambra State, Nigeria. The population of the study comprised 300 level undergraduate Business Education students in public universities in Anambra State who have gone through Work-Integrated Learning. Census Survey sampling technique was adopted. A structured questionnaire of 19 items was used for the study. The instrument was adapted from existing psychological scales including the General Self-Efficacy Scale, the Goal Orientation Scale, and the Work Persistence Measurement Framework. The questionnaire was validated by three experts. The questionnaire was subjected to trial testing to determine the internal consistency of the instrument. An overall co-efficient value of 0.70 was established using Cronbach Alpha Method. Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient (PPMCC) was used to answer research questions 1 to 2 while Multiple Regression Analysis was used to answer research question 3. Simple Linear and multiple regression were used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance to ascertain the extent to which self-efficacy and goal orientation jointly and independently predicted students’ persistence in Work-Integrated Learning. Findings revealed that while self-efficacy and goal orientation are independently strong predictors of persistence, their combined effect is even more powerful. Based on the findings, it was recommended among others that business education departments in universities should implement pre-placement training programs that aim to boost students’ self-efficacy through confidence-building exercises, simulations, and real-world case studies.