Abstract
Purpose. The purpose of this causal-comparative research study was to examine the impact of an Integrated Business Curriculum Program (IBCP) and its effects on career decision-making self-efficacy (CDMSE). It also provides a framework and common vocabulary for which type of business curriculum provides the best career readiness CDMSE advantage.
Conceptual Framework. The conceptual framework synthesizes an integrated business curriculum and the experiential learning theory and its relationship to an IBCP.
Methodology. A causal-comparative research methodology was used to study the impact of an IBCP utilizing experiential learning theory and its effects on CDMSE. This study used business administration college students from a 4-year private, nonprofit university in Southern California (N = 145). These students participated in a 25-item CDMSE Scale survey distributed among five subscales.
Findings and Conclusion. The means for the total CDMSE Scale was higher for those students completing the IBCP than those not completing the IBCP. However, the mean difference was insufficient to reject the IBCP null hypotheses. When using a context-specific age group of 18- to 20-year-old undergraduate students (N = 32), it showed that students who had completed the IBCP scored higher on the CDMSES than those who did not complete the IBCP. In addition, the mean difference rejected the IBCP effect null hypotheses. Although this sample size was too small to have an acceptable effect size, it demonstrated that the IBCP significantly impacted CDMSE.
Recommendations. For practice, university and college administrators and faculty should consider developing strategies and tactics to include an IBCP. It would result in more actively engaged students in the learning process and help close the gap between higher education and the world of work, providing the best career readiness advantage. Although the context-specific sample rejected the null hypotheses, it was too small to have an acceptable effect size. Nevertheless, it may be partial evidence for the success of the IBCP. Therefore, replicating this study using a larger context-specific sample size is recommended.