Career engagement implications for the post-graduation employment outcomes of international students in Canada: Insights on institutional, systemic, and motivational factors

Abstract

The dissertation examined the predictors of career engagement among university students in Canada through three interrelated studies, combining qualitative and quantitative approaches to understand how institutional structures, awareness, and motivational orientations shape proactive career behaviour.

Study one examined barriers to international students' career engagement through interviews with alumni and career experts. Key obstacles included disjointed services, limited awareness, cultural mismatches, and inconsistent faculty involvement. Participants proposed reforms such as culturally responsive mentorship, integrated career education, mandatory engagement milestones, and increased institutional accountability. These findings underscore how environmental factors and policies affect students' self-efficacy and outcome expectations in Social Cognitive Career Theory.

Study Two analyzed survey responses from 178 students to identify factors influencing career engagement. Key predictors included awareness of career services, student status, and graduation timelines, with awareness being the most significant. International students engaged more than domestic ones, highlighting pressures from immigration and job opportunities. Interaction analyses revealed that awareness was more effective for students nearing graduation but less so for racialized students, pointing to inequalities in accessibility and trust in institutional resources.

Study Three expanded the study by focusing on the motivational factors that influence engagement, utilizing Causality Orientation Theory as its conceptual framework. The findings showed that both autonomous and controlled orientations led to greater career engagement compared to impersonal orientation, with autonomous motivation emerging as the strongest and most reliable predictor. Also, an autonomous orientation enhanced the impact of awareness and student status, whereas a controlled orientation only led to short-term engagement when associated with external validation. The research showed that awareness alone does not sustain engagement; it is crucial for students to find personal meaning and autonomy in their career pursuits.

The implications for policy reach both national and provincial levels, indicating that career readiness ought to be integrated into the curriculum, supported even after graduation, and aligned with immigration and workforce policies that acknowledge international students as long-term contributors. The findings illustrate that career engagement is not a singular product of effort or opportunity but the outcome of their continuous interaction, where systemic design, individual agency, and motivational context converge.