Psychological Paradigm Shift in Students’ Degree Choice

1. 2nd
International Symposium on
Social Sciences & Humanities (ISSSH) 2019
Development Towards Sustainability
12th
-13th
December 2019
Waters Edge, Sri Lanka
PROCEEDINGS
National Centre for Advanced Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences
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2. © 2019 National Centre for Advanced Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences (NCAS)
ISBN: 978-955-4978-07-2
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Prof. C. Dilkushi Senaratne
Prof. E. A. Gamini Fonseka
Prof. Prashanthi Narangoda
Dr. Lalith Ananda
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3. 2nd
International Symposium on Social Sciences and Humanities (ISSSH) 2019
67
Factors Influencing Student's Choice of Academic Disciplines in the Tertiary
Education: A Case Study
The rapidly changing demands of the job
market are outpacing university reforms
globally. Literature suggests that high rates
of unemployment and underemployment
among university graduates point to a
mismatch between supply and demand
conditions for graduate employment. With
the entry of non-state higher education
institutes (NSHEI), the students are
now exposed to all emerging academic
disciplines. However, the demand for
traditional academic programs are the
most popular among students thus except
for leading NSHEIs others would cater to
this demand for commercial benefits. This
situation may expand the ‘mismatch’ of
education in labour market thus a visibility
and awareness would be the key in making
right choice of academic discipline. The
objective of this paper is to investigate the
factors that influence the choice behaviour
of students in tertiary education. The mix
of qualitative and quantitative approach
was used in data collection. The sample
consisted of 200 undergraduate students
in various disciplines and the quantitative
analysis was done using partial least
squares structural equation modelling.
The research identified sixteen factors
influencing students’ choice of academic
disciplines in the tertiary education
namely, student perception, employment
prospects, social recognition and prestige;
access to programs, compatibility and self-
efficacy; learning environments; quality of
teachers; course design; graduate success,
cost of learning, time duration to complete
the first degree, opportunities for academic
advancement, availability of the teaching
staff, industry specific knowledge , global
trends, limited choice of programs, and
popularity.
Faculty of Management Humanities and Social Sciences, CINEC Campus
lalith.edirisinghe@cinec.edu
Keywords: Education, University, Employability, Academic disciplines
Edirisinghe, L., Ranwala, L., Wathsala, D.