The role of self-efficacy and academic engagement in the perceived employability of university students in Education and Psychology

Abstract

INTRODUCTION. Several studies suggest that the perception of employability of future university graduates is fundamental for their subsequent entry into the world of work. Thus, some studies have focused on cognitive and motivational variables and the role they play in this perception. However, it has not been explored whether self-efficacy can have an effect on academic engagement and this in turn on the perception of employability in university students of education and psychology, which is the subject of the present study. METHOD. A total of 535 students (84.1% female) aged 19-51 years (M = 22.02; DT = 3.39) from the final years of 3rd (42.8%) and 4th (57.2%) years, belonging to four different degree programmes were surveyed using questionnaires. Analyses included Student’s t-test, bivariate correlations and mediation analysis with the PROCESS macro. RESULTS. The results showed that students’ perceived employability was influenced by the self-efficacy with which university students perceive their academic adequacy, efficiency and competence. Academic engagement mediated the effects of self-efficacy on perceived employability, so that increasing self-efficacy increases academic engagement, which in turn increases levels of employability. DISCUSSION. We discuss the need to enhance students’ motivation, autonomy, self-efficacy and confidence in order to clarify their objectives, goals and aspirations and to enable them to enter the labour market and to succeed in their professional performance.