Investigating the Theoretical Grounding of Questionnaires to Study Technology and Engineering Career Choice

Abstract

The shortage of qualified professionals in engineering and technology has become a critical concern. Research to understand factors influencing students’ career decisions has primarily focused on attitudes questionnaires. To address resulting limitations, role identity is emerging as a significant construct influencing study and career choice and persistence. The current research develops and tests an analysis framework, coherent with established theories, to evaluate instruments measuring attitudes and related constructs to investigate study and career choice. By applying this framework to seven paradigmatic instruments, several insights emerged. First, the framework proved useful for cross-disciplinary comparison and detecting gaps, but requires further refinement regarding depth in components and directional nuances. Second, the analysis revealed a lack of terminological clarity across instruments and substantial differences in how engineering and technology knowledge is operationalized. Future work should involve item-level analysis of a broader selection of instruments to ensure individual items map accurately onto intended theoretical dimensions, ensuring that the instruments are accurately measuring the specific constructs they are intended to assess and reducing conceptual ambiguities.