actors influencing the career preparation behavior of dental hygiene students

Abstract

Objectives: This study examined the professionalism, major satisfaction, self-leadership, and career preparation behavior of dental hygiene students, and examined the factors affecting career preparation behavior. Methods: A self-administered questionnaire survey was conducted among dental hygiene students in the Seoul and Gyeonggi areas of Korea, and finally, questionnaires submitted by 190 subjects were analyzed. Statistical analysis was conducted using SPSS 21.0. Results: The average scores for professionalism, major satisfaction, self-leadership, and career preparation behavior among the evaluated subjects were 3.68±0.56, 3.44±0.46, 3.57±0.55, and 3.24±0.52, respectively. Students who answered that their motivation for career preparation according to general characteristics was “because it is a valuable job” showed the highest score of 3.60±0.54 for professionalism (p<0.01) and higher scores for major satisfaction and career preparation behavior (p<0.001). The factors that affected career preparation behavior were self-leadership (p<0.001), major satisfaction (p<0.01), and professional intuition (p<0.01). Conclusions: The study findings showed that groups with higher self-leadership, major satisfaction, and professionalism exhibited more active career preparation behavior. Therefore, various educational programs are needed to improve dental hygiene (academics) and career preparation behavior of students.

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