Factors associated with employment intentions of agriculture school students in South Korea

ABSTRACT

Purpose: This study aims to explore the employment intentions of agriculture high school students in South Korea and to examine the factors associated with their employment intentions.

Methodology: A survey was carried out among 1,750 students from six agriculture high schools. Data were analyzed using frequency analysis and binary logistic regression analysis.

Results: This study reveals that students are more likely to have employment intentions if (1) they perceive their employability positively, (2) they have lower educational aspirations, (3) their parents are unemployed, and (4) they positively perceive career education in schools.

Practical Implications: This study highlights the importance of career education in strengthening students’ skills and employability. It also provides insights into the support students receive from schools to enhance their future employment prospects.

Theoretical Implications: This study has implications pertaining to the necessity of a modified version of the social cognitive career theory (SCCT) model, which incorporates additional factors that reflect the social contexts of Korea or other countries.

Originality: This study is one of the few studies examining factors associated with the employment intentions of agriculture high school students. Its findings could be a helpful resource to promote the employment of students and to address workforce challenges the agricultural industry faces.

KEYWORDS:

• Employment intention
• agriculture school students
• career choice
• logistic regression analysis

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Kyungin Kim

Kyungin Kim is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Learning and Performance Systems at the Pennsylvania State University. Her research areas are school-to-work transitions of agriculture school students and professional development for extension educators.

Anil Kumar Chaudhary

Anil Kumar Chaudhary is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics, Sociology, and Education at the Pennsylvania State University. In this capacity, he teaches program evaluation, basic and advanced statistics, and introduction of agricultural and extension education courses. His current research focuses on two major research areas: application of program evaluation and assessment principles to formal and non-formal educational settings and human dimensions of natural resources management.

Areum Han

Areum Han is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Psychology at the University of Luxembourg. Her current research interests are the measurement of students’ collaborative problem-solving skills.

Sangjin Ma

Sangjin Ma is a Senior Research Fellow at the Korea Rural Economic Institute. He conducts research in the areas of policies for youth employment in the agriculture industry and training program development for young farmers.

Mark D. Threeton

Mark D. Threeton is an Associate Professor in the Department of Learning and Performance Systems at the Pennsylvania State University. His research focuses on the areas of safety and health education within school environments as well as the broader workforce.