Search Results (390)

Organizational culture is widely recognized as an important contextual factor shaping career development and long-term human resource sustainability. Although prior research has examined organizational culture, career development, and sustainable HRM, these constructs have often been studied separately and predominantly within Western contexts. This study addresses this gap by analyzing their interrelationships within a transitional economy. Grounded in sustainable human resource management and sustainable careers perspectives, the study examines how organizational culture typologies influence career development and HR sustainability. Career development is operationalized through organizational career growth and career competences. Survey data were collected from 542 employees across 23 IT and manufacturing companies in Serbia and analyzed using factor analysis and multiple regression. The findings show that organizational culture significantly shapes career growth opportunities and career competences and is also directly related to HR sustainability. Person-oriented cultures are associated with more favorable career development conditions and higher levels of HR sustainability, while power- and role-oriented cultures are linked to weaker outcomes. Career growth and career competences further emerge as key mechanisms supporting long-term workforce sustainability. This study contributes to the literature by integrating organizational culture, career development, and HR sustainability into a single analytical framework within a transitional economy context and provides practical insights for managers aiming to foster sustainable careers and long-term HR sustainability. Full article

This study aimed to adapt and validate the Polish version of the Perceived Future Employability Scale (PFES) and verify its factor structure among university students. Drawing on Social Cognitive Career Theory and the concept of possible selves, this study analysed how students perceive their future employment opportunities. This research was conducted among 408 students (61.0% female, 39.0% male; age: M = 20.97, SD = 2.68) at Maria Curie-Skłodowska University. Exploratory factor analysis using Principal Axis Factoring with Oblimin rotation revealed a six-factor structure explaining 63.74% of total variance. Based on stringent psychometric criteria (primary loadings ≥0.50, cross-loadings <0.30), six items exhibiting weak or problematic loadings were systematically removed, yielding a refined 18-item version that maintains all 6 theoretical dimensions while improving model fit. Confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated excellent fit using DWLS estimation (CFI = 0.996, RMSEA = 0.053) and acceptable fit with ML estimation (CFI = 0.958, RMSEA = 0.062). Reliability analysis demonstrated good-to-excellent internal consistency (α = 0.756–0.903; ω = 0.754–0.893) and adequate convergent validity (AVE = 0.612–0.785). Full measurement invariance across gender was established. The final Polish PFES comprises six dimensions: perceived future network, perceived expected experiences, perceived future personal characteristics, anticipated reputation of educational institution, perceived future labour market knowledge, and perceived future skills. The PFES provides a psychometrically sound tool for career development research and interventions supporting UN Sustainable Development Goals 4 and 8. Full article

Background: Integrity, encompassing honesty, accountability, and ethical conduct, is a cornerstone of the dental profession, essential for patient trust and safety. Despite its importance, academic dishonesty remains a pervasive issue in dental education globally. This review examines the prevalence, causes, and long-term career implications of academic dishonesty in dental education and explores institutional strategies to cultivate a culture of integrity. Method: The study was conducted using PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar to identify studies published between 1970 and 2025 on academic dishonesty in dental education. Search terms included dental students, cheating, plagiarism, and clinical falsification. Eligible studies reported prevalence, drivers, or consequences of dishonest behaviors. Data were extracted and thematically synthesized to highlight common patterns and professional implications. Results: Self-reported data indicate alarmingly high rates of cheating among dental students, ranging from 43% to over 90%. Common forms include exam fraud, plagiarism, and the falsification of clinical records. Key drivers include intense academic pressure, competitive environments, and a perception of weak enforcement. Such behaviors are not merely academic violations—they have profound professional consequences. A history of academic dishonesty can damage a student’s reputation, hinder licensure and credentialing processes, and limit postgraduate opportunities. Crucially, studies indicate that unethical behavior in school can normalize dishonesty, predicting a higher likelihood of future professional misconduct, such as insurance fraud or malpractice, thereby jeopardizing patient care and public trust. Conclusions: Academic integrity is a critical predictor of professional ethical conduct. Dental schools must move beyond punitive policies to implement proactive, multi-faceted approaches. This includes integrating comprehensive ethics curricula, fostering reflective practice, promoting faculty role modeling, and empowering student-led initiatives to uphold honor codes. Cultivating an unwavering culture of integrity is essential not only for academic success but for developing trustworthy practitioners committed to lifelong ethical patient care. Full article

This study investigates the determinants of turnover intention among real estate sales professionals in Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), two markets that represent contrasting economic realities within the MENA region. Drawing on Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory, Vroom’s Expectancy Theory, and March and Simon’s Push-Pull Model, this study adopts a multidimensional framework to assess the effects of compensation, job stress, career growth opportunities, and work–life balance on employee retention. A quantitative method was employed using a structured questionnaire administered to 832 respondents (425 in the UAE and 407 in Lebanon), and data were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling. The results reveal that job stress is the most influential predictor of turnover intention, particularly in Lebanon, followed by work–life balance, compensation, and career growth opportunities. These findings underscore the importance of psychological well-being and structural incentives in talent retention. By offering empirical evidence from an underexplored regional labor market, the study contributes to the global turnover discourse and provides comparative insights into the labor dynamics of both a crisis-prone and a high-growth economy. The results carry significant practical implications for HR managers, firm owners, and policymakers, highlighting the necessity of adopting holistic and context-sensitive retention strategies that extend beyond financial rewards to include flexible work arrangements, career development frameworks, and supportive workplace cultures. Full article

Artificial intelligence (AI), a transformative force, has revolutionised various aspects of human life and business operations. This has led to a drastic mutation of the career landscape, embedded with vast opportunities as well as challenges, particularly concerning career sustainability (CS). Despite myriad studies on CS, the paradoxical interplay of AI and CS remains underexplored, particularly for expatriates (expats). To address the aforementioned gap, our study incorporates an affordance perspective (AFP), positioning AI as an object and CS as a user context. Specifically, this study investigates whether AI facilitates the orchestration of an enhanced sustainable career within the boundary conditions of knowledge sharing (KS), encompassing both tacit and explicit knowledge pertinent to AI, cultivated through managerial initiatives and employee-driven activities. The study conducted a quantitative survey among 490 expats working in AI-integrated environments in China. The results reveal a curvilinear (U-shaped) relationship between AI and CS, where AI affordance at a moderate level enhances career adaptability and skill development. However, digital affordances become complex beyond a certain threshold, creating several career concerns, such as job insecurity and role ambiguity. Furthermore, the moderating effect of tacit and explicit KS mitigates numerous career disruptions while fostering long-term career growth. The study framed AI as both a tool and a collaborator that illuminates the importance of AI–human intelligence (AI–HI) synergy and knowledge augmentation in navigating digital transitions. Moreover, implications for international career development and human-oriented digital transformation are also discussed. Full article

Informal STEM education programs (ISEs) can be a successful vehicle for addressing the underrepresentation of girls in STEM by expanding their views of what constitutes science and debunking stereotypes related to who succeeds in STEM careers. Research has demonstrated how in-person ISEs provide opportunities for girls to engage in hands-on, authentic science experiences, interact with diverse women role models, and understand the real-world application of STEM to improve their STEM identity development (i.e., STEM competence, performance, self and external recognition, and sense of belonging within STEM). But few studies have focused on STEM identity development in online spaces. Our study addresses this gap through a mixed methods study that investigates how an online program (Brite), held in 2023, influenced the STEM identities of the participating girls. Our results highlight the aspects of the online program that improved the STEM identity for participants as well as lessons learned for future programs. The influential programmatic pieces were role model interactions and the supportive Brite community that included program educators, the other girls, and the Brite facilitators, which helped girls feel inspired and motivated to continue along their STEM identity trajectories. Full article

A global decline in students’ motivation and academic performance poses a serious threat to future competence supply, particularly in knowledge-driven economies such as Sweden. Despite higher education’s growing importance for economic and social mobility, the number of students pursuing such education continues to fall. This study employs a mixed-methods design using an explanatory sequential approach to explore how teachers’ leadership identity influences their aspirational engagement in shaping students’ beliefs and intentions to pursue higher education and future career opportunities. The results show that teachers who identify strongly with their leadership role exhibit a type of leadership that influences aspirational engagement with students. This, in turn, may promote students’ beliefs in their potential and intentions to pursue higher education through (1) aspirational engagement in individual dialogues with students, (2) aspirational engagement when introducing new subject areas in whole-class communication, and (3) aspirational engagement related to practical work experience (PRAO). This study demonstrates an understanding of the important potential of teachers’ contributions to elevate society’s future competence supply. Full article

Teaching the host country’s language is not only a form of linguistic education but also a means of integrating foreign citizens into society, thereby promoting sustainable cultural change and social inclusion. This article, based on an ecolinguistic approach combined with Gardner’s motivation theory, examines the opportunities for social inclusion of international students at VILNIUS TECH (Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, Lithuania) through learning Lithuanian as the host country’s language. From the ecolinguistic perspective—which highlights the interconnections between language, identity, and the learning environment, and which shapes sustainable human relationships and social behavior—the study analyses the instrumental and integrative motivation of international students learning Lithuanian. A quantitative survey of 212 bachelor-level students was conducted, and responses were analyzed using descriptive statistics and motivational categories. The findings reveal that integrative motivation (cultural interest, respect for the host country, and desire for belonging) is significantly stronger than instrumental motivation (career and pragmatic value). However, despite strong positive attitudes toward the language, students experience limited social inclusion and few opportunities to use Lithuanian outside the classroom. The interplay between motivation types and environmental conditions shows how language learning contributes to social inclusion, the preservation of the host country’s linguistic prestige, and broader cultural sustainability. Full article

LGBTQ+ persons and related issues remain barely visible in German academia, reflecting limited acceptance as well as heteronormative and discriminatory structures. This invisibility negatively affects career trajectories, well-being, and protection from discrimination of LGBTQ+ academics, while also hindering research on LGBTQ+-related social issues, injustices and forms of disadvantage. In addition, LGBTQ+ students lack important role models. To examine this exploratory finding more systematically, this project was carried out in collaboration with the Magnus Hirschfeld Federal Foundation, collecting written responses from 26 German academic institutions to a set of open-ended questions delivered by email on the visibility of LGBTQ+ persons. The responses were analysed using qualitative content analysis. Our findings show that most institutions perceive the visibility of LGBTQ+ academics as low and recognise a need for new networking opportunities. Germany thus provides a valuable example of the dynamics of LGBTQ+ inclusion in continental Europe, where diversity has historically played a less prominent role than in US and UK contexts, and where cross-national comparisons suggest significant variation in levels of inclusivity. Full article

Purposes: Teacher turnover has especially negative effects on schools and students when experienced and capable teachers leave. This loss is significant when those teachers also serve as mentors to their less experienced colleagues. This study aimed to advance understanding about how school leaders can positively influence the retention of their school’s teacher mentors. Methodology: The framework for the study reflects a longstanding line of research on successful leadership. Using a cross-sectional research design, evidence was provided by responses to the mentor survey component of a larger four-year study examining the effects on retention decisions of a national induction programme for early-career teachers and their mentors in England. Structural equation modelling was employed to test the direct and indirect effects of school leadership and selected school conditions on mentors’ self-efficacy, well-being and job satisfaction, and ultimately retention decisions. Findings: Developing and retaining teacher mentors was associated with a suite of leadership practices which encourage collaborative cultures, provide coherent high-quality learning opportunities, and ensure what they perceive to be manageable workloads. These organizational conditions nurture the job satisfaction and self-efficacy of experienced teachers enhancing their sense of well-being at work. Implications: Results suggest four sets of guidelines for senior school leaders. Full article

Background/Objectives: Physician burnout and mental health issues are widespread, with over 50% experiencing burnout and nearly 25% suffering from depression, trends that have worsened since 2018. High-demand specialties like urology face additional stressors, including increasing workloads and technological changes. Gender disparities further exacerbate these challenges, with female urologists reporting higher burnout and work–life balance struggles. To evaluate perceptions of work–life balance, career satisfaction, and workplace experiences among urologists worldwide, and to provide potential strategies to improve physician well-being, promote gender equity, and support the sustainability of urology. Methods: A web-based, cross-sectional survey was conducted from March to June 2025, involving urologists, residents, and fellows globally. The 30-item questionnaire covered demographics, working conditions, work–life balance, and gender-related workplace issues. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics stratified by gender, age, role, and region. Results: We received replies from 390 doctors in urology. Work-related stress was reported by 87.4% (340). A total of 17.7% (69) felt their career progression to be fully compatible with their personal life, while 42.3% (165) perceived a significant imbalance. Female urologists experienced higher perceptions of inequality in career and work–life opportunities. Over 50% expressed willingness to reduce workload for family reasons, highlighting systemic barriers. Burnout was most prevalent among younger urologists (<50 years), with persistent gender disparities across regions. Conclusions: Work–life imbalance and burnout remain major concerns for urologists globally, especially among female and early-career physicians. Addressing these issues requires institutional policies promoting flexibility, gender equity, and targeted support. Further research is needed to develop effective interventions to sustain a resilient urological workforce. Full article

Across the globe, as countries implement policies and programs to increase college enrollment of youth to increase their workforce outcomes, a recently implemented education policy in Texas instead centers the student in selecting career pathways right out of high school. This paper explores the relationship between career-focused graduation plans and workforce outcomes of the 40% of Texas public school youth who do not continue into higher education. Through access to a statewide, individual-level data repository, this research produces a thorough descriptive analysis of the workforce outcomes of high school graduates who do not continue into higher education and estimates relationships between workforce outcomes and career-focused high school graduation plans. Our findings indicate that early in their implementation, career-focused graduation plans demonstrate no relationship to workforce outcomes for high school graduates who do not continue into higher education. We further found a declining trend in workforce participation for youth with only a high school credential. In conclusion, we recommend revising current graduation pathways to reinstate the requirement for higher-level mathematics courses across all graduation plans, while also ensuring that every student has access to these advanced math opportunities during high school. Full article

A course was created at a large private R1 university in the northeast U.S. to explore Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) in STEM in response to and to fulfill a university-wide DEIA requirement for undergraduates. To assess the effectiveness of the course, open-response pre- and post-tests were designed that measured students’ understanding of barriers to learning and participation across four underutilized groups in STEM: (1) women, (2) racial minorities, (3) people with disabilities, and (4) people raised in lower socioeconomic households. Written responses on the first and last day of class were analyzed for 69 unique students in three successive cohorts (Fall 2022, 2023, and 2024) and disaggregated by student-reported demographic data. A common codebook was developed that could be broadly applied to all four underutilized groups with overarching categories of individual/self; cultural/societal; and institutional/educational/career, with codes and subcodes specific to each category. Additionally, codes distinct to each underutilized group also emerged. As intended, students on average cited more total and unique barrier codes in the post-test than in the pre-test, confirming that the course had deepened their understanding of the multifaceted challenges and opportunities within educational systems and the broader culture that impact STEM inclusivity. When exploring STEM barriers for women, women reported more unique codes in the pre-test than men, but men showed higher gains from pre- to post-test. Similarly, White and Asian students showed greater gains than racial minority students when identifying STEM barriers for racial minorities. Students without disabilities reported a doubling in unique STEM barrier codes in the post-test. In these three groups, codes related to academic and workplace discrimination were commonly cited. Students who reported being from a low socioeconomic household were limited in this study, though these individuals included more unique codes in their pre-test responses on average. Students in this group commonly cited barriers related to access to opportunity. In general, we found that STEM students acquired significant understanding of barriers to STEM participation in the four underutilized groups of focus after completing a dedicated DEIA course. Additionally, learning gains were often greater in the majority (or privileged) demographic. Full article

Midwives and nurses are integral to the quality and safety of patient care. However, there is a limited amount of critical discussion and debate about the use of interviews to recruit people to study for these professions. There are some reports of people who are marginalised, minoritised, or racialised, being denied the opportunity to study for a degree in these professions, despite meeting the requisite entry requirements. Therefore, this commentary analyses the contemporary narrative and discussion relating to the role of interviews in recruiting student midwives and nurses. This critical analysis uses the UK as a case study and promulgates an alternative approach that could result in a more diverse workforce and enhance patient safety. It is hoped that the critical analytical approach taken in this paper will inspire those involved in recruitment to midwifery and nursing to consider the efficacy, utility, and equity of recruitment interviews and their impact on who is or is not afforded the opportunity to pursue a career in these professions. Full article

Though higher education has returned to in-person instruction in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, demand for online learning continues to increase. This rapid growth in virtual instruction necessitates examining its impact, particularly in skill-based courses that have traditionally been taught in person. Public speaking, a course requiring experiential learning and active engagement, presents unique challenges and opportunities when converted to an online format. This study explores student experiences in an online public-speaking course designed to parallel the structure of traditional in-person instruction, examining whether the essential learning outcomes of a skill-based class can be effectively achieved remotely. Using archival student data (n = 1151) from 2021 to 2024, we conducted a qualitative analysis of student reflections on how in-person pedagogical strategies effectively implemented in the online format influenced their self-concept, mindset, and overall learning experience. Our findings indicate significant improvements in students’ self-concept, growth mindset, self-confidence, and their ability to overcome fears related to public speaking. Additionally, students highlighted unexpected benefits of the online format, including enhanced support for multilingual learners and increased connections between course content and greater future career readiness in utilizing remote communication. These results highlight the potential of well-designed online public speaking instruction to foster skill development, professional preparedness, and inclusive learning. The study has implications for future skill-based online pedagogy and curriculum development. Full article