Career Exploratory Behavior Scale

Abstract

The Career Exploratory Behavior Scale (CEB Scale), developed by Sheu in 2023, is a psychometric instrument designed to quantify the level of engagement in career exploratory behaviors (CEB) among students during the preceding week. The development of its items was rooted in prominent vocational psychology theories, notably Super’s developmental perspective, particularly tasks and behaviors associated with the Exploration stage (Hartung, 2021), and social cognitive career theory (Lent & Brown, 2013; Lent et al., 1994). The creation process also integrated practical insights from team members and instructors who had direct experience with the study’s target participants. The scale comprises five items intended to assess the extent of students’ engagement in CEB. Validation of the CEB Scale was conducted utilizing data collected over five distinct time points from a sample of first-year college students in the United States. These participants were identified as exploratory students who had not yet declared their academic majors. An exploratory factor analysis performed on the data revealed a robust one-factor solution. Additionally, the internal consistency of the scale was thoroughly reported, demonstrating its reliability.

Keywords

Career Exploratory Behaviors, College Majors, Educational Choices, Occupational Choices, Student Engagement

Authors

Sheu, Hung-Bin

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Purpose

The primary purpose of the CEB Scale is to serve as an assessment tool to evaluate exploratory students’ recent engagement levels in career exploratory behaviors.

Validity

No data is Available.

Reliability

Internal Consistency: In a pilot sample, the Cronbach’s alpha for the CEB Scale was reported as 0.89. For the primary sample, the internal consistency, as measured by both Cronbach’s alpha and McDonald’s omega, was consistent across five time points. The values were 0.79 at Time 1 (T1), 0.81 at Time 2 (T2), 0.88 at Time 3 (T3), 0.85 at Time 4 (T4), and 0.89 at Time 5 (T5).

Factor Analysis

Exploratory Factor Analysis: An exploratory factor analysis, employing the principal axis factoring method, was conducted. The eigenvalues (3.47, 0.57, 0.37, 0.31, 0.29), scree plot, and parallel analysis (derived from 500 random datasets generated from the pilot sample) consistently indicated a one-factor solution. This single factor accounted for 69.34% of the total variance in the scale.

Instrument: CEB Scale

Test Type: Original
Format: The CEB Scale consists of items that are rated using a 1 to 5 metric. Higher scores on these items indicate a greater level of engagement in Career Exploratory Behavior (CEB).
Language Available: English
Population Group: Human (Male and Female)
Age Group: Adulthood (18 years and older), specifically Young Adulthood (18-29 years).
Population Details: The study participants were first-year college students located in the United States.
Test Methodology: The methodology employed for the development and validation of the CEB Scale included Test Reliability assessment, Internal Consistency analysis, Factor Analysis, and specifically Exploratory Factor Analysis.

Keywords

Career Exploratory Behaviors, College Majors, Educational Choices, Occupational Choices, Student Engagement

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier:
Sheu, Hung-Bin: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1269-7514

Affiliation:
Sheu, Hung-Bin: SUNY, University at Albany, Department of Educational and Counseling Psychology

Email Addresses:
Sheu, Hung-Bin: [email protected]

Correspondence Address:
Sheu, Hung-Bin: State University of New York, University at Albany, Department of Educational and Counseling Psychology, 1400 Washington Avenue, Albany, New York, United States, 12222, [email protected]

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

Permissions: The CEB Scale may be used for Research and Teaching purposes.
Commercial Use: No
Fee: No
Test Year: 2023

References

Sheu, H.-B. (2023). Temporal precedence between and mediating effects of career decision self-efficacy and career exploratory behavior among first-year college students: Within-person and between-person analyses by race/ethnicity and gender. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 144, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2023.103882

Items of the CEB Scale

The CEB Scale is a 5-item measure. The specific items are available within the source reference.

Career Exploratory Behavior Scale

Within the past week, I have:

• spent more time than usual learning about college majors and careers that I am interested in.

• talked to lots of people about college majors and careers.

• committed to learning more about my abilities and interests.

• gathered the information I need for choosing a college major or career.

• talked with advisors/counselors in my school about career opportunities for different majors.

Note: Items are rated using a 1 to 5 metric.