Date
7-21-2022
Department
School of Education
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy in Education (PhD)
Chair
Christian Raby
Primary Subject Area
Education, General
Keywords
Self-Efficacy, Work-Based Learning, Disability, Community College, Matriculation, Andragogy
Disciplines
Curriculum and Instruction
Recommended Citation
Bowen, Kimberly Elaine, "The Difference in Self-Efficacy Scores Among Students Who Participate in Work-Based Learning and Those Who Do Not Based on Their Disability Status in Community College" (2022). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 3717.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/3717
Abstract
Students with disabilities are attending higher education institutes at an increasing rate due to the programs and retention practices developed in k-12 classrooms. A concern for community colleges is the student’s ability to transition into the workforce after graduation. A high percentage of students with disabilities are unemployed. It is essential to study factors that can contribute to a student’s ability or inability to successfully transition into employment after matriculation. Self-efficacy has been associated with academic success and could be a determinate for employment status. The purpose of this study was to determine if self-efficacy levels differ between students with and without disabilities who do or do not participate in work-based learning. Work-based learning is a program-specific internship experience designed to develop students’ hard and soft skills, job awareness, and professional network. The causal-comparative study determined the effect of work-based learning and disability status on students’ self-efficacy. Self-efficacy was measured using the General Self-Efficacy Scale. The data was collected from 14 North Carolina community colleges using convenience sampling. The data was analyzed using a two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). The two-way ANOVA yielded no statistical significance between self-efficacy scores between students with and without disabilities who did or did not participate in work-based learning. The difference between self-efficacy scores in students with and without disabilities was statistically significant and therefore support previous research studies’ assertations. Future studies should compare students’ self-efficacy scores over a semester to determine if there is a positive or negative change.
