• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.349-362
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• 2019

This study reviewed the Ladder Project as a science education program for the educational underprivileged youths, and analyzed how the science career experience activities of Ladder Project effect on students' preference for science and career maturity so as to infer the significance and implication of practices in science education for the educational underprivileged students. For this we investigated students' preference for science and career maturity before and after the science career experience activities in 2017 Ladder Project, and then analyzed students' responses. As a result, students' preference for science was changed positively in all areas after participation of the science career experience activities, and this change was more apparent for middle school students than high school students. Also, students' career maturity was changed positively after participation of the science career experience activities in the aspects of planning, knowledge for job, inquiry and preparation for future career. However this change was more apparent for high school students than middle school students. This study is significant in that it proved the evidential effectiveness of nationwide science education project for the educational underprivileged students. It also implies that science career experience activity should be adaptive according to the aims and target students of science education for the educational underprivileged students.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.49-61
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• 2017

This study seeks to explore high school students' changing attitudes toward science-related career choices with focus on the scientific career cultural capital perspective. We developed a questionnaire and surveyed female high school students. We used the survey results to explore the scientific career cultural capital factors and characteristics of the students who have chosen a science-related career. We selected twelve participants through science-related career choice type and then conducted in-depth interviews with them. Through the in-depth interviews, we explored how the factors of scientific career cultural capital affect the students' career choices. The result shows that the students developed internal resources through norms of obligation and reciprocity within the structure (family, school, community) based on external resources. The internal resources affected their science-related career choice. In elementary school, the students' interests in science and science-related occupations are the most influential in their choice of career directions. In high school, however, the students also considered career cognition, aptitude cognition, and career-value factors in their career choices. The interests in science were formed mainly due to education activity and daily-life activity. Over time, education activity's effect increased. The interests in science-related occupations were formed mainly due to daily-life activity during elementary school. In high school, the interests in science-related occupations formed due to diverse internal and external resources. Students who maintained a science-related career attracted external resources. Furthermore, they reinforced internal resources through interacting with various external resources. This study has implications for science education concerning students' science-related career choices.

• Journal of Gifted/Talented Education
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.493-509
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• 2015

This study analyzed the effects of university-based science education programs on the gifted's science career orientation. The subject of this study was 74 students who had university-based science gifted education programs on 2014. They took 'Science Career Orientation' tests and questionnaires before and after the program. We had a cluster analysis about pre scores on 'Science Career Orientation' as a variable. We analyzed the satisfaction level and effect of science career decision by groups after the program. As results, they were divided into four groups by cluster analysis. University-based science education program helped the increase of science career orientation in the categories indicating the low scores of the groups. They showed high satisfaction level and positive effects of science career decision, and the programs affecting their science career decision and satisfaction about that were different by groups. Satisfaction level and effects of science career decision are highly correlated.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.518-526
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• 2006

Science career education is for every student as well as for students who want to become scientists. In this study, we developed and applied science career education materials using TV programs which showed successful application of science in industry and business. The effects of the programs were surveyed mainly by questionnaire on 'Science Career Orientation', which have four categories.Video materials using TV programs were effective in changing science career orientation (p<0.05) of junior high school students, but only when the teacher added some cognitive explanation on the scientific concept involved. Providing only video materials were not enough to make meaningful change on science career orientation. The results implied science career education should be linked with science teaching and learning. It also showed the possibility and the way of using informal education like TV program in science career education.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.27 no.7
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• pp.570-582
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• 2007

The purpose of this study was to analyze the causal relationship among students' science-related career choice and its factors. The causal relationship was analyzed using structural equation modeling. According to the most fitting model, science career aspiration had a direct and total effect of 0.95 (standardized coefficient) on the science career choice, and personal factor had an indirect and total effect of 0.75 on the science career choice, educational factor, 0.46, and social factor, 0.11. Personal factor had a direct and total effect of 0.79 on the science career aspiration, educational factor with total effect of 0.48 (direct effect -0.21, indirect effect 0.69), and social factor with direct and total effect of 0.12. On the other hand, educational factor had a direct and total effect of 0.72 on the social factor, and a direct and total effect of 0.77 on the personal factor. The difference in the causal effect among grades and between gender was analyzed. The difference was only in the magnitude of influence among grades, showing the same tendency with the total number of students, but the difference between gender was contrastive. For the boys, social factor had the biggest effect on the science career choice, next was personal factor, and the educational factor had the smallest effect. The girls' science career choice influenced mostly from personal factor, and the other two factors' effects were not high. The social effect was negative for the girls' science career choice. The implications of proper science career education were discussed from these results, considering the causal relationship among factors of science career choice and its factors.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.34 no.7
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• pp.613-624
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• 2014

The aim of this study is to explore why Korean 4th graders' interest in science was not connected to career aspirations in science using the perspective of science identity. Forty-five students with a high interest in science but with low science-related aspirations have been chosen from 488 elementary school students who have completed a questionnaire exploring students' interest and career aspirations in science. Among them, 19 who have received parental permission participated in in-depth interviews examining students' science identities (interest, competence, and recognition by others in science) and their experiences and perceptions of science-related activities. The results showed that most students have limited or situational interest in science, a gap between the perception of their competence in science and their competence for a science-related career, and negative recognition by others in science. Also, participants' science identities and low aspirations for a science-related career constrained their attention and participation in science-related activities. Students' negative science identities and low aspirations for science-related careers were based on the high standards of science-related careers. It seems that these erroneous perceptions and expectations led them to differentiate themselves from students pursuing science-related careers, as well as to perceive that their interest, competence, and recognition by others in science were not enough to pursue a science-related career. This study has implications for understanding the current condition of young students with low aspirations for science careers and exploring desirable objectives and strategies to promote activities to raise their aspirations for science-related careers.

• Journal of Gifted/Talented Education
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.927-943
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• 2011

What are the critical factors in deciding future career to the gifted and talented students? The present study started with this question, and was to develop a career decision-making scale for scientifically gifted undergraduates. For this, literatures related to the scientifically gifted/talent and scientists' career decision-making were reviewed and examined in depth. Based on the review of the related literature, the developed scale of career decision-making was comprised of 26 items in 6 factors, such as individual aptitude & self-realization, economic aspect, work & leisure, familial influence, parents/teachers' recommendation, and experience of science activity during the school days. For the preliminary exploratory factor analysis, 153 undergraduate students who were majoring in natural sciences and engineer participated in the study. For the confirmatory factor analysis, 264 undergraduates who were awarded the presidential scholarships and 93 undergraduates who completed a university-affiliated gifted education center participated. The results of the study are as follows. The fit of measurement model was found to be $x^{2}$=645.157 (df=279, p=.00), TLI=.924, CFI= .935, RMSEA=.061, indicating most of fit indexes were acceptable. Cronbach's ${\alpha}$ in each sub-factor was quite high, .82 for individual aptitude & self-realization, .94 for economic aspect, .84 for work and leisure, .88 for familial influence, .79 for patents/ teachers' recommendation, and .79 for experience of science activity during the school days. The results of the study were discussed whether the developed scale could be used as a valid and reliable tool for measuring career decision-making factors of the scientifically gifted undergraduates in our country.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.34 no.8
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• pp.779-786
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• 2014

Elementary children, hoping for jobs in science/engineering(Sci/Eng) or medicine(Med), were surveyed on the reasons for jobs, science/math preferences, interests in science, and science aspirations. For 3rd grade boys, twice more students picked Sci/Eng than Med choices. However, for 6th grade boys, the numbers of Sci/Eng and Med became close. The ratios of girls with Sci/Eng in 3rd and 6th grade did not differ much. The 6th graders chosing Med was 1.4 times bigger than 3rd graders for both boys and girls. For students with Sci/Eng, the most important reason for a job was that he/she liked it. For Med, helping others was as much important as doing what he/she liked. Science preference were the highest in the Sci/Eng group. The Med group came next with the non-science group being last. Math preferences were lower than the science preferences. Therefore, children need to be guided to increase the preferences for math as well as for science to keep the Sci/Eng and Med career choices. The interests in science and the science aspirations show similar patterns. The 3rd graders showed higher value than the 6th graders, the boys higher than girls, and the Sci/Eng group highest, the Med the second and non-science group the last. Science aspirations were higher than the interests only for the Sci/Eng group, while it was lower than the interests in all other groups. This implies that science aspirations might have bigger influence on getting a career in Sci/Eng than interest does.

• Journal of Gifted/Talented Education
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.921-946
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• 2010

The purpose of this study is to devise a model of career decision in the science-gifted by exploring factors of having influence upon career decision in the science-gifted undergraduates of our country, and by examining pattern and path of career decision. By suggesting a model of structure, which synthetically considered factors of parents (parental social support), school (stress of college life, adjustment to college life), and individual characteristics(problem solving ability, career decision-making self-efficacy, conviction for major selection)as for career decision in the science-gifted undergraduates through this study, the aim was to arrange the theoretical frame for career in the science-gifted undergraduates. The research subjects were 93(class of 2007~2009) students who completed education in 2002 and 2003 at the gifted education center affiliated with University, and 264 scholarship students(class of 2005-2008) by the President at home and abroad, who are receiving scholarship by being selected as a science scholarship student by the incumbent President. The measurement tools, which were used in this study for collecting data, are test of parental social support, test of problem-solving ability, test of stress in college life, test of adjustment to college life, test of efficacy in career decision, and test of having confidence in selecting a major. For statistical analysis of the collected data, SPSS Program and AMOS Program were used. As a result, the model showed a good fit to the present data in the science-gifted undergraduates, TLI=.928, CFI=.941, RMSEA=.059. It was confirmed to be a model that is accepted in the group of the science-gifted undergraduates. Also, hypotheses, which were established on the basis of a theoretical quest, could be known to have been all adopted except one path. The results of this study can be offered as basic data for developing program and implementing a system in order to broaden the width of understanding about career and to help the career decision in the science-gifted.

• The Journal of Korean Association of Computer Education
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.13-23
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• 2017

There have been many researches on educational effects and efficient education methods related to Informatics education for computational thinking. However, while the one of the human models specified in the national curriculum focuses on self-directed career development ability, research on Informatics education from the viewpoint of career education is deficient. This study aimed to analyze the effects of Informatics education on science high school students' career development ability and suggest implications. As a result, not the students' career recognition and career search ability, but also career choice and preparation also improved. However, it was analyzed that there is a significant difference according to the gender and the completion of the middle school Informatics education. This study is expected to contribute to the necessity of Informatics education and the direction of Informatics education research from the viewpoint of career education.