Abstracts - Earli

Factors influencing the choice of a major in Information TechnologyAngela O’Donnell, State University of New Jersey, USANicole Di Donato, University of california, USARecent changes to the nature of the Information Technology (IT) field coupled with a growing ITindustry have led to an increase in the demand for qualified IT professionals. On the other hand,according to the National Science Foundation (Retrieved on June 3, 2006), the number of studentsearning PhD degrees in computer science at the top 50 universities is the lowest it has been in 12years. Similarly, enrollment at the top 50 universities for electrical engineering plummeted to thelowest it has been in 16 years (Nelson, 2004). Because universities serve as a major supplier ofprofessionals to the IT workforce, research at the college level is necessary to understand thefactors that influence students to make career decisions while in school. The purpose of this paperis to determine the factors that influence college students to major in Information Technology andpursue technology-related careers by comparing students in IT and non-IT majors. Results suggestthat students make career decisions based on self-efficacy expectations about future careers intechnology, mathematical mastery skills, outcome expectations about characteristics of suchcareers, and the influences of family and/or friends. Understanding students’ beliefs andperceptions will create knowledge that can be used for interventions and programs that specificallymay serve to increase the number of students pursuing IT careers and more generally help studentsin making career decisions.Study orientations of student teachersKirsti Lonka, University of Helsinki, FinlandAnnamari Heikkila, University of Helsinki, FinlandSaija Sappinen, University of Helsinki, FinlandThe goal of this study was to investigate study orientations among teacher students attending anintroductory course in educational psychology and to find out the factors that were related tolearning from this course. Study orientations or learning styles describe somewhat permanent waysof how students understand and approach learning and studying. Study orientations are comprisedof various elements. The research problems in this study were: 1) What kinds of study orientationswere discovered among the students attending a course in educational psychology? 2) Whatvariables predicted the learning outcomes? The participants (n = 110-138) were mainly classteacher students and kindergartner teacher students who participated in an introductory course ineducational psychology. The data were collected by using a questionnaire measuring conceptionsof learning and knowledge, thinking strategies and attributions, approaches to learning, exhaustionand stress, self regulatory skills, interest, and anxiety. The results of a knowledge test and the finalcourse examination were the learning outcome measures. A first-order principal componentanalysis with varimax rotation was performed to explore the study orientations of the participants.The background variables were the program, gender, age, lecture activity, prior knowledge,interest, independent study time, study experience, and goals. Also academic emotions, such asstress, exhaustion and anxiety, were examined in relation to the learning outcomes. Regressionanalyses were applied to see which variables predicted the learning outcomes. The results showedthat students expressed four different study orientations: cook book-, meaning making-,collaborative- and dysfunctional orientations. Optimism, strategic planning and interest ineducational psychology were found to explain the learning outcomes. Believing in certainknowledge was negatively related to the learning outcomes.– 60 –