Influence of Gender, Disciplines, and Social Involvement on College Students' Perceptions of Employability Skills

• In Event: 33.079 - Roundtable Session 12
  In Roundtable Session: 33.079-16 - Ready for the World? Factors Promoting Workforce and Democratic Outcomes

Abstract

To better understand the impact of gender, academic disciplines and social involvements on student perceptions of core education employability skills, multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and several phrases of hierarchical multiple regression analyses were employed to analyze online survey data collected from 1685 seniors. The results showed that gender, contact frequency, advising, and academic extra-curricular had statistically significant effects on senior students’ perception of problem solving employability skills. Males scored significantly higher in problem solving skills than females. In addition, disciplines, contact frequency, advising, academic and social/cultural extra-curricular activities had significant impact on senior students’ perception of their teamwork skills. Students from soft disciplines reported significantly higher gains on teamwork employable skills. Implications and limitations were discussed.

Authors

• Yingqi Wang, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

• Steven M. Culver, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

• Penny L. Burge, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University