Career aspirations are considered to be one of the most important motivation variables in the study of psychology and career development, as well as being connected to an individual’s career-related goals, intentions or options. The aims of this study were: (a) to develop and validate a model for predicting career aspirations, and (b) to investigate direct and indirect links between paternal education, self-esteem, resilience, future orientation, and career aspirations of university students. The participants were 445 students from two universities in Thailand. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed that the factor structure of four measurement models presented in the study was suitable and compatible. To achieve the intended research objectives, the empirical data were analyzed using structural equation modeling with decomposition analysis of total effects in direct and indirect effects. Results showed that paternal education, resilience, and future orientation have significant direct effects on students’ career aspirations, while self-esteem has an indirect effect. This suggests that self-esteem can help students develop their resilience, as well as promoting their development of a positive future orientation, which also helps foster a higher level of career aspiration. These results can be fundamental to supporting the continued use of the structural equation model in future research on career development.

Rapid technological changes in industry and institutions of higher education required that their continuous learning and teaching methods conform to the needs of the labor market in the digital era. Building the engineering skill self-efficacy of students should be a key goal for educational institutions as they develop necessary skills for future engineers. This work investigated structural factors influencing engineering skill self-efficacy by conducting a questionnaire survey among 1,316 engineering students in Thailand. Structural equation modeling was used to validate the proposed model. The research results indicated that engineering skill self-efficacy was contributed to digital skills, learning strategies, and achievement goal orientation. Learning strategies were predicted by achievement goal orientation, and they positively associated with digital skills. These empirical findings reflect a sustainable educational development structure for engineering education. The results may benefit educators by specifying methods of educational development and learning activity design and promoting pedagogical system to develop learners’ characteristics to enhance their engineering skill self-efficacy. Students can then be prepared with digital skills to apply to their further work, which will affect capacity building and the overall image of a country’s development.

Preparing preservice teachers for professional engagement is important for teacher education and has received much attention over the past decades. Therefore, finding effective training and coaching to improve the professional skills of preservice teachers (PSTs) is of great importance. This study developed a proactive online training program (POTP) based on a model of work-integrated learning (WIL) activities and teacher education. The objective was to evaluate the effectiveness of the POTP in improving PSTs’ professional skills. The participants consisted of 83 PSTs in an education program from two universities in Thailand. This study comprises three phases: phase I, the development of the POTP; phase II, a quasi-experimental study with a pretest-posttest design; and phase III, a focus group discussion. The findings demonstrated that PSTs in the group in which the POTP was implemented exhibited increased professional skill development compared to the PSTs in the control group, i.e., without the POTP. Analysis from the focus group confirmed that participants gained knowledge and satisfying online tools, and they were found to have better skills. They also revealed that the POTP not only improved professional skills but also enhanced the inspiration and confidence of the PSTs and supported their life and career goals and preparation. Therefore, educators, practitioners, and policymakers involved in pedagogical content knowledge development in teacher education programs can apply the POTP and assessment models proposed in this work to develop essential soft skills for PSTs and to better prepare them for their careers as teachers in the 21st-century digital era.

Learning outcomes (LOs) provide an essential foundation for evaluating the effectiveness of higher education institutions (HEIs). LOs have been accepted as criteria for accrediting academic programs; however, little is known about why students vary in their desired outcomes and how experiences in the workplace and learning strategies have different impacts on LOs. Based on social cognitive career theory (SCCT), this study investigated the relationships among work-integrated learning (WIL), learning strategies, institutional and goal commitments, engineering skill self-efficacy, engineering career outcome expectations, lifelong learning skills (LLLs), achievement goal orientation, and LOs. The participant pool consisted of 1,316 undergraduate engineering students from 11 HEIs in Thailand. Hypotheses regarding the causal relationships, including the direct and indirect effects, were examined by using structural equation modeling (SEM). Both the measurement and structural equation models showed a good fit to the data. The results of the SEM indicated that achievement goal orientation, LLLs, and engineering skill self-efficacy had significant positive direct effects on LOs. Learning strategies had a strong direct effect on LLLs and institutional and goal commitments. The practice of WIL in the workplace was an important factor in building engineering skill self-efficacy and LLLs. The mediation analysis indicated that learning experience (i.e., institutional and goal commitments) and psychological factors played important roles in the relationship between learning strategies and LOs. This study confirmed and expanded the SCCT research. Finally, theoretical and practical implications for LO development were identified based on the results.