Reconsidering Digital Natives’ Career Choice Instead in STEM via TPB, SCCT and Media Exposure

Abstract

The role of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) is becoming undeniably important as the world constantly develops to be more technology driven. The future workforce universally will be highly STEM-oriented that the majority of the jobs will demand more STEM workers. Malaysia will need more than one million STEM-related human capital by 2020, especially with the emergence of innovative sectors. Malaysia has strived to reach a targeted ratio of 60:40 science-to-non-science students in its effort to fulfil industrial demands for sustainable development of the country. Over the years, extensive initiatives and strategies have also been implemented in producing qualified STEM graduates to meet current and future market demands. However, the goal has yet to be achieved. This scenario shows the urgent need to identify the factors that would attract more students to enter STEM careers. Previous studies have used the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) and Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) to examine career choices in STEM, but not comparing both the theories to represent students’ STEM career choices in this digital era. Therefore, this conceptual paper proposes a research framework, drawing from the TPB and SCCT, to better fit the digital natives who are highly exposed to media in a technology-enhanced world.