Validation of the Career Planning Styles (SPK-21) tool
Abstract
Research objectives and problem: The article focuses on the theoretical basis for the development and validation of the Career Planning Styles (SPK-21) tool. The aim was to design and evaluate the psychometric properties of a questionnaire for investigating the career planning styles of university graduates entering the labor market. The main research objective was formulated as the following question: What are the career planning styles of university students?
Research methods: The study was conducted in the 2023/2024 academic year. The Career Planning Styles questionnaire was distributed to students in two stages. First, a pilot study was carried out with 155 respondents, which enabled an initial psychometric validation of the tool. The main survey was then conducted among 665 university students.
Process of argumentation: The article begins with an introduction to the topic of professional careers in the modern world. Particular attention is paid to the issues of accelerating change and the growing complexity of the world, as well as their consequences for the labor market and career planning. This section also addresses factors that influence career planning decisions. The next part outlines the methodological assumptions of the research, including sample selection, research timeline, and the procedure for creating and validating the SPK-21 tool. The final part presents a summary of the tool’s potential applications.
Research findings and their impact on the development of educational sciences: The analyses led to the development of the final version of the Career Planning Styles (SPK-21) questionnaire. Cronbach’s alpha for its three dimensions: ordered style, flexible style, and dependent style was 0.726, 0.707, and 0.620, respectively.
Conclusions and/or recommendations: The evaluation of the validity and reliability of the final version of SPK-21 was positive. The tool can be used to measure three styles of career planning, and the survey may be conducted individually or in groups.
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