Development and validation of self-perceived employability instrument for undergraduate students in private higher education institutions
The unemployment issue among university graduates in Malaysia remains unresolved. Universities play a vital role in dealing with this problem as one of the main functions of tertiary education is to produce graduates with employability to join the competing job market. It is necessary to study un...
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| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2020
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/90766/1/FPP%202020%2034%20-%20IR.pdf |
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| Summary: | The unemployment issue among university graduates in Malaysia remains
unresolved. Universities play a vital role in dealing with this problem as one of the
main functions of tertiary education is to produce graduates with employability to
join the competing job market. It is necessary to study undergraduate students’
perceived employability as it portrays students’ willingness to change and adapt
to possible working environments. However, there is a lack of psychometrically
tested students’ self-perceived employability instrument in Malaysian context.
This study aims to identify students’ conceptualization of employability, and
develop a valid and reliable instrument to measure undergraduate students’ selfperceived
employability. A mixed method research design and purposive
sampling involving two private universities in Selangor were applied. With a
qualitative approach, randomly selected final-year undergraduate students in a
private university were interviewed to explore students’ conceptualization of
employability and their employability attributes. Employability models were
reviewed and a theoretical model of five-factor was proposed. A total of 113
items were written for Self-Perceived Employability Instrument based on the
literature and the qualitative findings. Through content validation, items were
amended based on the experts’ feedback, resulted in 112 items. A quantitative
approach was conducted in another private university. Random sampling was
applied and two groups of sample were determined for factor analyses. In
exploratory factor analysis, 112 items were reduced to 33 items in seven factors,
namely career resilience, human and social capital, teamwork,
conscientiousness, critical thinking, academic, and leadership. Confirmatory
factor analysis confirmed the seven-factor model. Construct validity provided
more psychometric properties of the instrument. The reliability of the instrument
was also proven. Self-perceived Employability Instrument is useful to reflect finalyear
undergraduate students’ job readiness and the effectiveness of the higher education institutions in producing graduates with high employability. However,
the usage of the instrument might be limited to private university students. |
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