Mediating effects of career planning on the relationship between self-understanding and career awareness and career decisions among low-income college students

Objective: The purpose of this study is to examine the longitudinal mediating effect of career planning in the process by which self-understanding and career awareness influence career decision-making among university students. Methods: Data from the Samsung Dream Scholarship Foundation’s longitudinal study on marginalized children and adolescents were utilized, specifically focusing on data from 280 students who participated in the “College Hope Scholarship” program in 2021 and 2022. The relationships among the variables were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). Results: The findings of this study are as follows. First, career planning was found to have a partial mediating effect on the relationship between self-understanding and career decision-making. Second, career planning showed a full mediating effect in the relationship between career awareness and career decision-making. Conclusions: These results suggest that to enhance career decision levels among university students, individuals need not only to understand themselves and improve their level of career awareness but also to develop and manage specific career plans. Therefore, it is proposed that both universities and society should provide education related to career planning to support students’ successful transition into society and their integration as professionals.