Graduation Year
2023
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree
Ph.D.
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
Degree Granting Department
Curriculum and Instruction
Major Professor
Victor H. Hernandez-Gantes, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Oscar Aliaga Abanto, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Robert F. Dedrick, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Zorka Karanxha, Ed.D.
Keywords
Career preparation, Career readiness, Internships, Workforce, NSSE Survey
Abstract
The United States higher education institutions’ mission is to support students' academic success and career development goals by preparing them to become globally competent citizens and workforce-ready graduates. With student workforce preparation at the core of their mission, there is concern that colleges and universities are not adequately investing in international students’ engagement in career-preparation practices (e.g., internships). As such, this quantitative, secondary-data study explored the relationship between senior international students’ demographic characteristics, the institutional environment (type and classification), and their internship participation behavior. Key variables were identified from three complementary theoretical strands, including Astin’s Input-Environment-Output (I-E-O) Model (1988, 1993a, 1993b, 1999), (2) the Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) (Lent et al., 1994), and the Experiential Learning Theory (Kolb, 1984). Data from the 2019 and 2020 NSSE surveys were analyzed employing descriptive statistics to determine the rates/trends of student internship participation and logistic regression analysis to make predictions on each independent-dependent variable relationship. From an initial sample of n=920, n=703 (78%) reported Planning, Done, or in progress of an internship, whereas n=191 (21%) reported Not done/not planning an internship; n=26 were missing data. The descriptive statistical analyses revealed that students from Africa/Subsaharan and Asia reported the highest internship participation rates, with 92.3% and 84.6 respectively. Students from Europe ranked third in Plan to do and Done or in Progress of an internship, at 83.2%. Except for the Computer Science and Civil Engineering majors, the logistic regression analyses revealed no statistically significant relationship between the variables of gender, nationality, institution type, classification, and internship participation. Thus, the study revealed that except for the Computer Science and Civil Engineering majors, gender, nationality, institution type, and classification does not affect senior undergraduate international students’ internship participation. The 78% internship participation rate and the relatively proportionate representation based on student and institutional demographics in this study could be due to several institutions requiring an internship for the three academic majors treated in this study. Another reason could be that international students often see STEM and business internships as opportunities to enhance their career preparation for transitioning to the U.S. and global workforce following graduation. The results of this study revealed a relative proportionality of internship participation representation among international students’ demographics and institutional characteristics while highlighting the need for U.S. colleges and universities to continue investing in addressing gaps. These results may be used to inform researchers and practitioners about the current internship participation trends and the relationship between international students’ personal and institutional demographic characteristics on their internship participation and present a foundation for future international student career preparation research and practice.
Scholar Commons Citation
Gjini, Timothy W., "Relationship Between Demographic Characteristics and Internship Participation of Senior Undergraduate International Students" (2023). USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/etd/9870
