Thomas W. Ferratt
ABSTRACT
Students choose a major based on a number of factors, with interest in the subject matter consistently being important. Given declining MIS enrollments at our university, we seek to understand our students' selection of a major so that we may take appropriate steps to address the decline. Besides understanding our situation better, we seek to contribute to the literature by developing a deeper understanding of what is meant by interest in the major. Our research is guided by the theory of planned behavior (TPB). Our primary focus is to examine students' expected outcomes that lead to attitudes, with a particular focus on aspects of an MIS major that generate interest in the major. We will use open-ended survey questions and conduct qualitative interviews with students at our university, including new and returning students, MIS and non-MIS majors. Results will be reported at the conference.
- Ahuja, M., Ogan, C., Herring, S. C., and Robinson, J. C. Gender and career choice determinants in information systems professionals: A comparison with computer science. In: F. Niederman and T. Ferratt (Eds.), IT Workers: Human Capital Issues in a Knowledge-Based Environment (pp. 279--304). Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing.Google Scholar
- Ajzen, I. The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50 (1991), 179--211.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Ajzen, I., and Fishbein, M. "Understanding Attitudes and Predicting Social Behavior," Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1980.Google Scholar
- Akbulut, Asli Yagmur and Looney, Clayton Arlen. Inspiring students to pursue computing degrees. Communications of the ACM, 50, 10 (2007), 67--71. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Akbulut, Asli Yagmur; Looney, Clayton Arlen; and Motwani, Jaideep. Combating the decline in information systems majors: The role of instrumental assistance. Journal of Computer Information Systems, Spring 2008, 84--93.Google Scholar
- Arnold, John. The congruence problem in John Holland's theory of vocational decisions. Journal of Occupational & Organizational Psychology, 77, 1 (March 2004), 95--113.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Barak, Azy and Cohen, Liora. Empirical examination of an online version of the self-directed search. Journal of Career Assessment, 10, 4, (2002), 387--400.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Cohen, Jeffrey and Hanno, Dennis M. An analysis of underlying constructs affecting the choice of accounting as a major. Issues in Accounting Education, 8, 2, (Fall 1993), 219--238.Google Scholar
- Davis, F., Bagozzi, R. P., and Warshaw, P. R. User acceptance of computer technology: A comparison of two theoretical models. Management Science, 35, 8, (1989), 982--1003. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Eccles, J. Gender roles and women's achievement-related decisions, Psychology of Women Quarterly, 11 (1987), 135--172.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Galotti, K. and Kozberg, S. F. Older adolescents' thinking about academic/vocational and interpersonal commitments. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 16 (1987), 313--330.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Holland, John L. Exploring careers with a typology: What we have learned and some new directions. American Psychologist, 51, 4 (1996), 397--406.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Kim, David; Markham, F. Scott; and Cangelosi, Joseph D. Why students pursue the business degree: A comparison of business majors across universities. Journal of Education for Business, (September/October 2002), 28--32.Google Scholar
- Kim, S. S. and Malhotra, N. K. A longitudinal model of continued IS use: An integrative view of four mechanisms underlying postadoption phenomena. Management Science, 51, 5, (May 2005), 741--755. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Kristof, A. L. Person-organization fit: An integrative review of its conceptualizations, measurement, and implications. Personnel Psychology, 49 (1996), 1--49.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Lent, R. W., Brown, S. D., and Hackett, G. Toward a unifying social cognitive theory of career and academic interest, choice, and performance. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 45 (1994), 79--122.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Locke, E. A. "The Nature and Causes of Job Satisfaction," in Dunnette, M. D. (Ed.) Handbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Chicago: Rand-McNally, 1976, pp. 1297--1349.Google Scholar
- Lowe, D. R. and Simons, K. Factors influencing choice of business majors -- some additional evidence: A research note. Accounting Education: An International Journal, 6 (1997), 39--45.Google ScholarCross Ref
- McFarlin, D. B. and Rice, R. W. The role of facet importance as a moderator in job satisfaction processes. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 13 (1992), 41--52.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Prediger, D. J. Dimensions underlying Holland's hexagon: Missing link between interests and occupations? Journal of Vocational Behavior, 21 (1982), 259--287.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Rommes, Els; Overbeek, Geertjan; Scholte, Ron; Engels, Rutger; De Kemp, Raymond. 'I'M NOT INTERESTED IN COMPUTERS' Gender-based occupational choices of adolescents. Information, Communication & Society, 10, 3 (June 2007), 299--319.Google Scholar
- Simons, Kathleen A.; Lowe, Dana R.; and Stout, David E. Comprehensive literature review: Factors influencing choice of accounting as a major. Proceedings of the 2003 Academy of Business Education Conference, 4 (2003). Retrieved July 7, 2008, from http://www.abe.villanova.edu/proc2003/simons.pdf.Google Scholar
- Taylor, S. and Todd, P. Understanding information technology usage: A test of competing models. Information Systems Research, 6, 2 (June 1995b), 144--176.Google ScholarDigital Library
- Tracey, Terence J. G. Personal globe inventory: Measurement of the spherical model of interests and competence beliefs. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 60 (2002), 113--172.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Tracey, Terence J. G. and Rounds, James. The spherical representation of vocational interests. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 48, 1 (Feb. 1996), 3--41.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Venkatesh, V. and Davis, F. D. A theoretical extension of the technology acceptance model: Four longitudinal field studies. Management Science, 46, 2 (February 2000), 186--204. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Walstrom, Kent A.; Schambach, Thomas P.; Jones, Keith T.; and Crampton, William J. Why are students not majoring in information systems? Journal of Information Systems Education, 19, 1 (2008), 43--54.Google Scholar
- Zhang, Li-Fang and Fan, Weiqiao. Do modes of thinking predict career interest types among Chinese university students? Thinking Skills and Creativity, 2, 2 (2007), 118--127.Google ScholarCross Ref
Index Terms
- Why students choose MIS: what makes a major-job-career in management information systems interesting?
Recommendations
Using Social Cognitive Career Theory to Understand Why Students Choose to Study Computer Science
ICER '18: Proceedings of the 2018 ACM Conference on International Computing Education ResearchThe aim of this research is to use Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) to identify and understand reasons why students choose to study Computer Science (CS) at university. SCCT focuses on students' prior experience, social support, self-efficacy and ...
Why IS: understanding the factors influencing undergraduate students' intention to choose IS major in business
SIGMIS CPR '06: Proceedings of the 2006 ACM SIGMIS CPR conference on computer personnel research: Forty four years of computer personnel research: achievements, challenges & the futureOver the last a few years, undergraduate students seem increasingly less enthusiasm about IS major, and the enrollments to IS major in business schools, especially in the U.S. business schools, have been suffering. The continuing losses in IS ...
Attracting Prospective Engineering Students in the Emerging European Space for Higher Education
A set of outreach activities implemented by the College of Engineering of the Public University of Navarra, Spain, is described. They represent different initiatives aimed to improve recruitment of young engineers in the difficult context of declining ...
Comments