Current status of professional identity among undergraduates majoring in public affairs management and the related influencing factors

Abstract

Objective To investigate the current status of professional identity among the undergraduates majoring in public affairs management and the related influence factors. Methods A stratified cluster sampling method was used to conduct a questionnaire survey among the 115 undergraduates majoring in public affairs management in a medical university in Harbin, China, and the contents of the questionnaires included general status and professional identity. The t-test, one-way analysis of variance, and multiple linear regression analysis were used to analyze the influencing factors of professional identity. In-depth interviews were conducted for some students to explore the profound influencing factors for professional identity among the students majoring in public affairs management. Results The overall level of professional identity was low among the undergraduates majoring in public affairs management in the medical university in Harbin, and the score of professional identity was 3.25±0.56. The scores of cognitive dimension, emotional dimension, behavioral dimension, and applicable dimension were 3.41±0.69, 3.21±0.78, 3.24±0.71, and 3.13±0.72, respectively. The multivariate analysis showed that grade, academic performance, major selection, and children number in family had significant influence on their professional identity. The students who were at grade four, who had high academic record (b=-0.276, P 0.05). Furthermore, the students with a high score of professional identity had higher possibility to pursue the job related to this major than those with a low score (3.39±0.53 vs. 2.92±0.49, t=4.414, P<0.01). Conclusion Universities should strengthen the publicity of the major of public affairs management, optimize the curriculum, and add job experience, so as to enhance professional identity among students with this major and provide talent for the field of public health management. Key words: Professional identity; Public affairs management; Influencing factor