Theoretical Framework

Social Construct Career Theory (SCCT)

This study is supported by the Social Construct Career Theory (SCCT) by Robert W. Lent,

Steven D. Brown, and Gail Hackett (1994). The SCCT is theory based on Albert Bandura’s

general social cognitive theory. Bandura’s (1986) conceptualization of social cognitive theory

has given rise to social cognitive career theory (SCCT, Lent et al., 1994), which was created as a

framework to aid in the understanding of the ways in which individuals form career interest,

make educational and vocational choices, and perform and persists in terms of academic and/or

occupational endeavors. SCCT is one of the newer career theories, constructed to explain and

predict the ways in which individuals form career interests, set goals, and persists in the work

environment. This career theory tends to focus on individuals who are college-bound, college

students, or college-educated, which is the reason why we chose this theory to support our study.

There are three intricately linked variables: (1) self-efficacy beliefs, (2) outcome expectations,

and (3) personal goals – these three serves as the basic building blocks of SCCT. The SCCT

models describe the process by which self-efficacy beliefs, outcome expectations, and personal

goals influence career interests, which in turn moderate career intention or goals. Self-efficacy

refers to an individual’s personal beliefs about his or her capabilities to perform particular

behaviors or course of action. Self-efficacy is different to self-esteem, self-efficacy beliefs are

relatively dynamic and are specific to particular activity domains. For SCCT, people are likely to

become interested in, choose to pursue, and perform better at activities at which they have strong

self-efficacy beliefs. Outcome expectations refers to beliefs about all consequences or outcomes

of performing particular behaviors. It’s the choices people make if they are going to engage in an

activity or not, if they are going to put their effort if they decided to engage in an activity.
According to SCCT and other social cognitive theory, person’s engagement in activities, the

effort and persistence they put into them, and their ultimate success are partly determined by

both their self-efficacy beliefs and outcome expectations. Personal goals are one’s intentions in

making a particular career choice, or to engage in a particular activity. By setting goals, people

help to organize and guide their own behavior and to sustain it in the absence or more immediate

positive feedback and despite inevitable setbacks. And the success or the failure in reaching

personal goals can give you an important information that helps to alter or confirm your self-

efficacy or own capabilities, and outcome expectations.