Uluslararası Öğrencilerin Kariyer Yetkinliklerinde Sosyal Destek ve Proaktif Kişilik Etkileşiminin İncelenmesi

Öz

Uluslararası öğrencilerin yeni bir kültüre uyum sağlama sürecinde karşılaştıkları güçlükler göz önünde bulundurulduğunda, kariyer gelişimleri özel bir önem taşımaktadır. Bu araştırmada, uluslararası öğrencilerde proaktif kişilik ile kariyer yetkinlikleri arasındaki ilişkide sosyal desteğin düzenleyici rolü incelenmiştir. Araştırmaya farklı ülkelerden toplam 310 uluslararası öğrenci (%52,9 erkek) katılmıştır. Hayes’in PROCESS Makrosu kullanılarak gerçekleştirilen regresyon analizi sonucunda, sosyal desteğin yansıtıcı ve davranışsal kariyer yetkinlikleri üzerinde anlamlı bir düzenleyici etkiye sahip olduğu, buna karşılık ilişkisel kariyer yetkinlikleri üzerinde anlamlı bir düzenleyici etkisinin bulunmadığı belirlenmiştir. Daha spesifik olarak, yüksek düzeyde sosyal desteğin, proaktif kişilik düzeyi düşük uluslararası öğrenciler açısından bu yetkinliklerde koruyucu bir faktör işlevi gördüğü saptanmıştır. Bununla birlikte, proaktif kişilik kariyer yetkinliklerinin anlamlı bir yordayıcısı olmayı sürdürmüş; yüksek düzeyde proaktif kişiliğin, düşük sosyal destekle ilişkili dezavantajları telafi ettiği görülmüştür. Bu bulgular doğrultusunda, uluslararası öğrencilerin kariyer gelişimlerinin desteklenmesine yönelik olarak kariyer psikolojik danışmanları ve yükseköğretim kurumları için çeşitli uygulama önerileri sunulmuştur.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• uluslararası öğrenciler
• kariyer yetkinlikleri
• sosyal destek
• proaktif kişilik
• kariyer gelişimi

Exploring the Interplay Between Social Support and Proactive Personality in Career Competencies of International Students

Öz

Career development is noteworthy for international students, given the challenges of adapting to a new culture. This study explores how social support moderates the link between proactive personality and career competencies in this group. A total of 310 international students (52.9% male) from various countries participated in the study. Using Hayes’ Process Macro, regression analysis revealed a significant moderating effect of social support on reflective and behavioral competencies, but not on relational competencies. Specifically, higher levels of social support served as a protective factor for international students with low proactive personality in these competencies. However, proactive personality remained a significant predictor of career competencies, as higher levels of proactive personality compensated for the disadvantages associated with low social support. Based on these findings, implications are provided for career counselors and higher education institutions to support the career development of international students.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• international students
• career competencies
• social support
• proactive personality
• career development

Kaynakça

1. Akkermans, J., Brenninkmeijer, V., Huibers, M., & Blonk, R. W. B. (2013). Competencies for the contemporary career: Development and preliminary validation of the career competencies questionnaire. Journal of Career Development, 40(3), 245-267. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894845312467501
2. Akkermans, J., Paradniké, K., Van der Heijden, B. I. J.M., & De Vos, A. (2018). The best of both worlds: The role of career adaptability and career competencies in students’ well-being and performance. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 1678. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01678
3. Alikaj, A., Ning, W., & Wu, B. (2021). Proactive personality and creative behavior: Examining the role of thriving at work and high-involvement HR practices. Journal of Business and Psychology, 36(5), 857-869. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-020-09704-5
4. AlKhemeiri, A. K., Khalid, K., & Musa, N. (2021). The role of career competencies and proactive personality in early-career employee career adaptability. European Journal of Training and Development, 45(4/5), 285-300. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJTD-05-2020-0081
5. Arthur, N. (2017). Supporting international students through strengthening their social resources. Studies in Higher Education, 42(5), 887-894. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2017.1293876
6. Arthur, N., Lei, D., & Woodend, J. (2023). From near and afar: International secondary school students’ career influences. Journal of Career Development, 50(2), 335-352. https://doi.org/10.1177/08948453221094309
7. Bateman, T. S., & Crant, J. M. (1993). The proactive component of organizational behavior: A measure and correlates. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 14(2), 103-118. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.4030140202
8. Bilecen, B., Diekmann, I., & Faist, T. (2024). The puzzle of loneliness: A sociostructural and transnational analysis of International Chinese Students’ networks in Germany. International Migration, 63, e13298. https://doi.org/10.1111/imig.13298

9. Civera, A., Meoli, M., & Paleari, S. (2023). International student mobility: onset for a future career or an experiential opportunity? International Studies in Sociology of Education, 32(2), 559–578. https://doi.org/10.1080/09620214.2021.2007417
10. Claes, R., Beheydt, C., & Lemmens, B. (2005). Unidimensionality of abbreviated proactive personality scales across cultures. Applied Psychology, 54, 476-489. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1464-0597.2005.00221.x
11. Cook, E. P., Heppner, M. J., & O’Brien, K. M. (2002). Career development of women of color and white women: Assumptions, conceptualization, and interventions from an ecological perspective. The Career Development Quarterly, 50(4), 291-305. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2161-0045.2002.tb00574.x
12. Corney, T., Du Plessis, K., Woods, B., Lou, C., Dewhurst, A., & Mawren, D. (2024). ‘If you are feeling alone and you are not feeling safe, it impacts everything’: A mixed-methods exploration of international students’ accommodation, subjective wellbeing and mental health help-seeking. BMC Public Health, 24(1), 1262. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-18691-8
13. Crant, J. M. (2000). Proactive behavior in organizations. Journal of Management, 26(3), 435-462. https://doi.org/10.1177/014920630002600304
14. Fraenkel, J. R., Wallen, N. E., & Hyun, H. H. (2019). How to design and evaluate research in education (10th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.
15. Fuller, B., & Marler, L. E. (2009). Change driven by nature: A meta-analytic review of the proactive personality literature. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 75(3), 329-345. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2009.05.008
16. Ghosh, A., & Fouad, N. A. (2017). Career adaptability and social support among graduating college seniors. The Career Development Quarterly, 65(3), 278-283. https://doi.org/10.1002/cdq.12098
17. Hayes, A. (2020). Introduction to Mediation, Moderation, and conditional process analysis, Second Edition: A regression-based Approach (Methodology in the Social Sciences). The Guilford Press.
18. Heijde, C. M. V. D., & Van Der Heijden, B. I. J. M. (2006). A competence‐based and multidimensional operationalization and measurement of employability. Human Resource Management, 45(3), 449-476. https://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.20119
19. Jabeen, Q., Nadeem, M. S., Raziq, M. M., & Rice, J. L. (2025). Fostering sustainable employability: the nexus of social support and career competencies in healthcare. South Asian Journal of Business Studies, 14(1), 54–71. https://doi.org/10.1108/sajbs-07-2023-0244
20. Jenkins, J., Cogo, A., & Dewey, M. (2011). Review of developments in research into English as a lingua franca. Language Teaching, 44(3), 281–315. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261444811000115
21. Jiang, Z. (2017). Proactive personality and career adaptability: The role of thriving at work. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 98, 85-97. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2016.10.003
22. Jo, H., Park, M., & Song, J. H. (2024). Career competencies: An integrated review of the literature. European Journal of Training and Development, 48(7/8), 805-832. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJTD-04-2023-0052
23. Jorgensen, T. D., Pornprasertmanit, S., Schoemann, A. M., & Rosseel, Y. (2022). semTools: Useful tools for structural equation modeling. [R package version 0.5-6.] https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=semTools
24. Kamna, D. F., & Ilkhanizadeh, S. (2022). Can high-performance work practices influence employee career competencies? There is a need for better employee outcomes in the banking industry. PLOS ONE, 17(3), e0264764. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0264764
25. Kliem, S., Mößle, T., Rehbein, F., Hellmann, D. F., Zenger, M., & Brähler, E. (2015). A brief form of the Perceived Social Support Questionnaire (F-SozU) was developed, validated, and standardized. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 68(5), 551–562. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclinepi.2014.11.003
26. Kong, H., Cheung, C., & Song, H. (2012). Determinants and outcome of career competencies: Perspectives of hotel managers in China. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 31(3), 712-719. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2011.09.007
27. Kong, H., Sun, N., & Yan, Q. (2016). New generation, psychological empowerment Can empowerment lead to career competencies and career satisfaction? International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 28(11), 2553-2569. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-05-2014-0222
28. Kuijpers, M., & Meijers, F. (2012). Learning for now or later? Career competencies among students in higher vocational education in the Netherlands. Studies in Higher Education, 37(4), 449-467. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2010.523144
29. Lee, S. T., & Lin, S. P. (2023). Proactive personality and the job search outcomes: the mediating role of networking behaviour. British Journal of Guidance & Counselling, 51(1), 29-45. https://doi.org/10.1080/03069885.2021.1998362
30. Lent, R. W., Brown, S. D., & Hackett, G. (1994). Toward a unifying social cognitive theory of career and academic interest, choice, and performance. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 45(1), 79-122. https://doi.org/10.1006/jvbe.1994.1027
31. Lent, R. W., Brown, S. D., Schmidt, J., Brenner, B., Lyons, H., & Treistman, D. (2003). Relation of contextual supports and barriers to choice behavior in engineering majors: Test of alternative social cognitive models. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 50(4), 458–465. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.50.4.458
32. Li, H., Xu, Z., Song, S., & Jin, H. (2024). How and when does proactive personality predict career adaptability? A study of the moderated mediation model. Frontiers in Psychology, 15, 1333829. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1333829
33. Li, N., Harris, T. B., Boswell, W. R., & Xie, Z. (2011). The role of organizational insiders’ developmental feedback and proactive personality on newcomers’ performance: An interactionist perspective. Journal of Applied Psychology, 96(6), 1317-1327. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0024029
34. Li, N., Liang, J., & Crant, J. M. (2010). The role of proactive personality in job satisfaction and organizational citizenship behavior: A relational perspective. Journal of Applied Psychology, 95(2), 395-404. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0018079
35. McCormack, C., & West, D. (2006). Facilitated group mentoring develops key career competencies for university women: A case study. Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning, 14(4), 409-431. https://doi.org/10.1080/13611260600739290
36. McCormick, B. W., Guay, R. P., Colbert, A. E., & Stewart, G. L. (2019). Proactive personality and proactive behaviour: Perspectives on person–situation interactions. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 92(1), 30-51. https://doi.org/10.1111/joop.12234
37. Minutillo, S., Cleary, M., Hills, A., & Visentin, D. (2020). Mental health considerations for international students. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 41, 494-499. https://doi.org/10.1080/01612840.2020.1716123
38. OECD. (2025). International student mobility. https://www.oecd.org/en/data/indicators/international-student-mobility.html
39. Pal, A., & Holloway, R. (2022). Post-COVID challenges for incoming and returning international students. Reinvention: An International Journal of Undergraduate Research, 15(2). https://doi.org/10.31273/reinvention.v15i2.948
40. Park, E. Y. (2024). Internationalization of higher education. A comparative perspective on support for international students in the United States of America, Republic of Korea, and Germany. Waxmann. https://doi.org/10.31244/9783830998853
41. Parker, S. K., Bindl, U. K., & Strauss, K. (2010). Making things happen: A model of proactive motivation. Journal of Management, 36(4), 827-856. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206310363732
42. Plomp, J., Tims, M., Akkermans, J., Khapova, S. N., Jansen, P. G. W., & Bakker, A. B. (2016). Career competencies and job crafting: How proactive employees influence their well-being. Career Development International, 21(6), 587-602. https://doi.org/10.1108/CDI-08-2016-0145
43. Pryor, R. G. L., & Bright, J. (2003). The Chaos theory of careers. Australian Journal of Career Development, 12(3), 12-20. https://doi.org/10.1177/103841620301200304
44. Ren, H., Shaffer, M. A., Harrison, D. A., Fu, C., & Fodchuk, K. M. (2014). Reactive adjustment or proactive embedding? Multistudy, multiwave evidence for dual pathways to expatriate retention. Personnel Psychology, 67(1), 203-239. https://doi.org/10.1111/peps.12034
45. Rogers, M. E., Creed, P. A., & Glendon, A. I. (2008). The role of personality in adolescent career planning and exploration: A social cognitive perspective. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 73(1), 132-142. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2008.02.002 Rosseel, Y. (2012). lavaan: An R package for structural equation modeling. Journal of Statistical Software, 48(2), 1-36. https://doi.org/10.18637/jss.v048.i02
46. RStudio Team. (2021). RStudio: Integrated development environment for R. RStudio, PBC. http://www.rstudio.com/
47. Savickas, M. L. (2013). Career construction theory and practice. In S. D. Brown & R. W. Lent (Eds.), Career development and counseling: Putting theory and research to work (pp. 147-183). John Wiley & Sons.
48. Seibert, S. E., Kraimer, M. L., & Crant, J. M. (2001). What do proactive people do? A longitudinal model linking proactive personality and career success. Personnel Psychology, 54(4), 845-874. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6570.2001.tb00234.x
49. Sin, C., Antonowicz, D., & Wiers-Jenssen, J. (2021). Attracting international students to semi-peripheral countries: A comparative study of Norway, Poland and Portugal. Higher Education Policy, 34, 297-320. https://doi.org/10.1057/S41307-019-00135-3
50. Teye-Kwadjo, E., & de Bruin, G. P. (2022). Rasch analysis of the Proactive Personality Scale. Psychological Reports, 125(5), 2788-2806. https://doi.org/10.1177/00332941211028110
51. Thompson, J. A. (2005). Proactive personality and job performance: A social capital perspective. Journal of Applied Psychology, 90(5), 1011-1017. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.90.5.1011
52. Wang, H., & Jiao, R. (2023). The relationship between career social support and career management competency: The mediating role of career decision-making self-efficacy. Current Psychology, 42(26), 23018-23027. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-03418-y
53. Wang, S., Mei, M., Xie, Y., Zhao, Y., & Yang, F. (2021). Proactive personality as a predictor of career adaptability and career growth potential: A view from conservation of resources theory. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 699461. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.699461
54. Woodend, J., & Arthur, N. (2018). International students’ university to work transition: Research-in-Brief. Canadian Journal of Career Development, 17(1), 53-55.
55. Wu, C.-H., Deng, H., & Li, Y. (2016). Enhancing a sense of competence at work by engaging in proactive behavior: The role of proactive personality. Journal of Happiness Studies, 19, 801-816. https://doi.org/10.1007/S10902-016-9827-9
56. Xia, T., Gu, H., Huang, Y., Zhu, Q., & Cheng, Y. (2020). The relationship between career social support and employability of college students: A Moderated Mediation Model. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 28. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00028
57. Yang, F., & Chau, R. (2016). Proactive personality and career success. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 31(2), 467-482. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMP-04-2014-0139
58. Yang, J., Gong, Y., & Huo, Y. (2011). Proactive personality, social capital, helping, and turnover intentions. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 26(8), 739-760. https://doi.org/10.1108/02683941111181806
59. Yi-Feng Chen, N., Crant, J. M., Wang, N., Kou, Y., Qin, Y., Yu, J., & Sun, R. (2021). When there is a will there is a way: The role of proactive personality in combating COVID-19. Journal of Applied Psychology, 106(2), 199-213. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000865
60. Yu, X., Luo, N., Liu, X., Li, H., Li, L., & Mei, Y. (2021). Effect of proactive personality on career decidedness: The mediating role of career exploration and the moderating role of anticipated regret. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 763224. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.763224