DEVELOPMENT OF AN EMPLOYABILITY MEASUREMENT SCALE FOR COOPERATIVE EDUCATION STUDENTS: EXPLORATORY FACTOR ANALYSIS
DEVELOPMENT OF AN EMPLOYABILITY MEASUREMENT SCALE FOR COOPERATIVE EDUCATION STUDENTS: EXPLORATORY FACTOR ANALYSIS
Abstract
This study aimed 1) to developed and validated the Employability Measure Scale for Thai Undergraduates (EMS-TU), and 2) to identify the factors that influence co-op student employability. The sample consisted of 96 undergraduate students from public autonomous universities in Thailand selected through stratified random sampling technique. The research instrument used in this study was survey questionnaire. The statistics used for data analysis included 1) the Index of Item-Objective Congruence (IOC) to examine content validity of the scale, 2) Cronbach’s alpha was used to measure internal consistency reliability, and 3) Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was employed to investigate the potential underlying factor structure of observed variables.
The results of this study were as followings: 1) IOC scores indicated strong content validity with the values ranging between 0.80 and 1.00, Cronbach’s alpha value 0.889 confirmed high reliability, EFA result demonstrated a five-factor version of 23 items with a range of factor loadings from 0.699 to 0.930. 2) The EMS-TU comprises five constructs: English language proficiency, career decision self-efficacy, university commitment, university support, and internship quality. The scale demonstrated strong construct validity and internal consistency, can be used to assess and monitor their students’ employability skills for students in higher education institutions in Thailand. The finding of this study informs curriculum development, guide skill enhancement initiatives, and ultimately support the alignment of graduate outcomes with labor market expectations.
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Na-Nan, K., & Saribut, S. (2020). Validation of employees' self-leadership using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management. 37(4). 552-574.
Neneh, B. N. (2020). Entrepreneurial self-efficacy and a student's predisposition to choose an entrepreneurial career path: The role of self-perceived employability. Education + Training. 62(5). 559-580.
Nunnally, J. C. (1978). Psychometric theory. 2nd ed. New York : McGraw-Hill.
Qazi, W., Qazi, Z., Raza, S. A., Hakim Shah, F., & Khan, K. A. (2024). Students' employability confidence in COVID-19 pandemic: role of career anxiety and perceived distress. Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education. 16(1). 120-133.
Roshid, M. M., & Kankaanranta, A. (2025). English communication skills in international business: Industry expectations versus university preparation. Business and Professional Communication Quarterly. 88(1). 100-125.
Tadayon Nabavi, R., & Bijandi, M. (2012). Bandura's Social Learning Theory & Social Cognitive Learning Theory. Tehran, Iran : University of Science and Culture.
Wang, N., Luan, Y., Zhao, G., & Ma, R. (2023). The antecedents of career decision self-efficacy: A meta-analysis on 20 years of research. Career Development International. 28(6/7). 633-648.
Wu, S., Zhang, K., Zhou, S., & Chen, W. (2020). Personality and career decision-making self-efficacy of students from poor rural areas in China. Social Behavior and Personality: an international journal. 48(5). 1-18.
Zainuddin, S. Z. B., Pillai, S., Dumanig, F. P., & Phillip, A. (2019). English language and graduate employability. Education + Training. 61(1). 79-93.
Al-Shehab, N., Al-Hashimi, M., Madbouly, A., Reyad, S., & Hamdan, A. (2021). Do employability skills for business graduates meet the employers’ expectations? The case of retail Islamic banks of Bahrain. Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning. 11(2). 349-366.
Baird, A. M., & Parayitam, S. (2019). Employers’ ratings of importance of skills and competencies college graduates need to get hired. Education + Training. 61(5). 622-634.
Bamrungsin, P. (2017). Enhancement students’ innovation and learning skills for 21st century and Thailand 4.0: A case study of Mahapajabati Buddhist College, Thailand. In Proceedings of the 5th International Scholars Conference, Saraburi, Thailand. 30-31 October 2017. 719-736.
Bamrungsin, P., & Khampirat, B. (2022). Improving professional skills of pre-service teachers using online training: Applying work-integrated learning approaches through a quasi-experimental study. Sustainability. 14(7). 4362.
Bamrungsin, P., & Meinhold, R. (2023). The eight perspectives of the cooperative pedagogy and teaching internship to leverage the competencies of the pedagogical students in the higher education-based Theravada in the global shifts. Global Interactive Journal of World Religions and Cultures (GIJWRC). 3(1). 38-55.
Bandura, A. (1977). Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychological Review. 84(2). 191-215.
Becker, G. S. (1993). Human capital: A theoretical and empirical analysis with special reference to education. 3rd ed. USA : University of Chicago Press.
Bowling, A. (1997). Research methods in health. English : Open University Press.
Caballero, G., Álvarez-González, P., & López-Miguens, M. J. (2020). How to promote the employability capital of university students? Developing and validating scales. Studies in Higher Education. 45(12). 2634-2652.
Chamorro-Premuzic, T., Hogan, R., & Kaiser, R. B. (2013). Employability and career success: Bridging the gap between theory and reality. Industrial and Organizational Psychology. 6(1). 3-16.
Chan, C. K. Y., & Luk, L. Y. Y. (2021). Development and validation of an instrument measuring undergraduate students’ perceived holistic competencies. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education. 46(3). 467-482.
Chen, Y.-C. (2017). The relationships between brand association, trust, commitment, and satisfaction of higher education institutions. International Journal of Educational Management. 31(7). 973-985.
Chowdhury, M. A. M. (2021). Impact of university commitment and student ambition on graduate employability: A study on selected private universities in Sylhet. Bangladesh Journal of Multidisciplinary Scientific Research. 3(2). 41-47.
Clement, A., & Murugavel, T. (2018). English for the workplace: The importance of English language skills for effective performance. The English Classroom. 20(1). 1-15.
Creswell, K. E., & Coll, R. K. (2011). Using cooperative education and work-integrated education to provide career clarification. Science Education International. 22(4). 282-291.
Di Fabio, A. (2017). A review of empirical studies on employability and measures of employability. In K. Maree (Ed.), Psychology of Career Adaptability, Employability and Resilience. English : Springer International Publishing.
Durga, V. S. S. (2018). The need of English language skills for employment opportunities. Journal for Research Scholars and Professionals for English Language Teaching. 7(2). 1-6.
Emperador-Garnace, X. R. (2025). Integrating English language teaching and learning with cooperative and work-integrated education (CWIE) pactices to advance quality education. Journal of Lifestyle and SDGs Review. 5(5). e6685.
Ferns, S. J., E., Z. K., Judene., P. T., & Rowe, A. D. (2025). Defining and designing work-integrated learning curriculum. Higher Education Research & Development. 44(2). 371-385.
Hamzah, S. R. a., Kai Le, K., & Musa, S. N. S. (2021, 2021/01/01). The mediating role of career decision self-efficacy on the relationship of career emotional intelligence and self-esteem with career adaptability among university students. International Journal of Adolescence and Youth. 26(1). 83-93.
Jackson, D. (2024). The relationship between student employment, employability-building activities and graduate outcomes. Journal of Further and Higher Education. 48(1). 14-30.
Khampirat, B., Pusaboon, K., Bamrungsin, P., & Chonsalasin, D. (2025). Development and validation of a questionnaire to measure social competencies for undergraduate students. Journal of Education Culture and Society. 16(1). 535-553.
Luk, L. Y. Y., & Chan, C. K. Y. (2020). Adaptation and validation of the work experience questionnaire for investigating engineering students' internship experience. Journal of Engineering Education. 109(4). 801-820.
MHESI. (2023). The graduate employment. Bankok : Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation (MHESI).
MHESRI. (2020). Cooperative and work integrated education (CWIE) platform. Bankok : Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation (MHESRI).
MHESRI. (2022). Announcement of the commission on higher education standards: Principles and guidelines to promote the operation of cooperative and work integrated education (cwie). Bankok : Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation (MHESRI).
Na-Nan, K., & Saribut, S. (2020). Validation of employees' self-leadership using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management. 37(4). 552-574.
Neneh, B. N. (2020). Entrepreneurial self-efficacy and a student's predisposition to choose an entrepreneurial career path: The role of self-perceived employability. Education + Training. 62(5). 559-580.
Nunnally, J. C. (1978). Psychometric theory. 2nd ed. New York : McGraw-Hill.
Qazi, W., Qazi, Z., Raza, S. A., Hakim Shah, F., & Khan, K. A. (2024). Students' employability confidence in COVID-19 pandemic: role of career anxiety and perceived distress. Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education. 16(1). 120-133.
Roshid, M. M., & Kankaanranta, A. (2025). English communication skills in international business: Industry expectations versus university preparation. Business and Professional Communication Quarterly. 88(1). 100-125.
Tadayon Nabavi, R., & Bijandi, M. (2012). Bandura's Social Learning Theory & Social Cognitive Learning Theory. Tehran, Iran : University of Science and Culture.
Wang, N., Luan, Y., Zhao, G., & Ma, R. (2023). The antecedents of career decision self-efficacy: A meta-analysis on 20 years of research. Career Development International. 28(6/7). 633-648.
Wu, S., Zhang, K., Zhou, S., & Chen, W. (2020). Personality and career decision-making self-efficacy of students from poor rural areas in China. Social Behavior and Personality: an international journal. 48(5). 1-18.
Zainuddin, S. Z. B., Pillai, S., Dumanig, F. P., & Phillip, A. (2019). English language and graduate employability. Education + Training. 61(1). 79-93.
Published
2025-08-22
How to Cite
SOE OO, Paing et al.
DEVELOPMENT OF AN EMPLOYABILITY MEASUREMENT SCALE FOR COOPERATIVE EDUCATION STUDENTS: EXPLORATORY FACTOR ANALYSIS.
วารสารการบริหารการศึกษา มมร.วิทยาเขตร้อยเอ็ด, [S.l.], v. 5, n. 2, p. 177-191, aug. 2025.
ISSN 2730-4132.
Available at: <http://202.29.86.169/index.php/RJGE/article/view/2864>. Date accessed: 23 aug. 2025.
Section
บทความวิจัย
