Human Capital Formation Function of Higher Education: A Scale Development Study

Öz

This study aims to develop human capital scale for university students through a validity and reliability study and to test the theoretical classifications of human capital in the related literature. In the first stage, relevant literature was surveyed and conceptualizations of human capital were examined. In order to obtain expert opinions, the 30-item trial form was referred to the experts who had knowledge about the subject area and were informed about the study. The trial form was applied in the health vocational schools of two private foundation universities in Istanbul. After the exploratory factor analysis, seven items of the scale were removed and a 5-factor scale was obtained in the end. The items of scholastic capital and market-value capital loaded on the same factor. In addition, items related to cultural capital loaded on two separate factors. The items related to cultural activities and the family effect loaded on separate factors. The findings fully support the conceptualizations in the literature in terms of scope and partially support them in terms of dimensioning.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Higher Education; Human Capital; Employability

Kaynakça

1. Apaydın, Ç. (2019). Transition from school to work: A national perspective. In Tuncer Fidan (Ed.), Vocational identity and career construction in education (pp. 100-121). Hershey, PA: IGI Global.
2. Arastaman, G., & Balcı, A. (2013). Investigation of high school students' resiliency perception in terms of some variables. Educational Sciences: Theory and Practice, 13(2), 922-928.
3. Aycan, Z. (2001). Human resource management in Turkey – Current issues and future challenges. International Journal of Manpower, 22(3), 252–260.
4. Baruch, Y., Bell, M. P., & Gray, D. (2005). Generalist and specialist graduate business degrees: Tangible and intangible value. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 67(1), 51-68.
5. Baruch, Y., & Fidan, T. (2019). The Turkish academic labor market as an ecosystem. In Tuncer Fidan (Ed.), Vocational identity and career construction in education (pp. 37-57). Hershey, PA: IGI Global.
6. Becker, G. S. (1993). Human capital: A theoretical and empirical analysis with special reference to education. Chicago, Ill: The University of Chicago Press.
7. Biçerli, M. K. (2000). Çalışma ekonomisi. İstanbul: Beta Yayınları.
8. Block, J., & Kremen, A. M. (1996). IQ and ego-resiliency: conceptual and empirical connections and separateness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70(2), 349-361.

9. Bourdieu, P. (1977). Reproduction in education, society, culture. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
10. Bourdieu P. (1986). Forms of capital. In John G. Richardson (Ed.), Handbook of theory and research for the sociology of education (pp. 46-58). Westport, CT: Greenwood.
11. Bourdieu, P., & Passeron, J. C. (1990). Reproduction in education, society and culture. London: Sage Publications.
12. Cheung, S. Y., & Andersen, R. (2003). Time to read: Family resources and educational outcomes in Britain. Journal of Comparative Family Studies 34(3), 413-433
13. Clark, L. A., & Watson, D. (1995). Constructing validity: Basic issues in objective scale development. Psychological Assessment, 7(3), 309-319.
14. Çokluk, Ö., Şekercioğlu, G., & Büyüköztürk, Ş. (2014). Sosyal bilimler için çok değişkenli istatistik: SPSS ve Lisrel uygulamaları. Ankara: PegemAkademi.
15. Donald, W. E., Baruch, Y., & Ashleigh, M. (2017). The undergraduate self-perception of employability: human capital, careers advice, and career ownership. Studies in Higher Education, 23(5), 1-16.
16. Donald, W. E., Ashleigh, M. J., & Baruch, Y. (2018). Students’ perceptions of education and employability: Facilitating career transition from higher education into the labor market. Career Development International, 23(5), 513-540.
17. Ellison, N. B., Steinfield, C., & Lampe, C. (2007). The benefits of Facebook “friends:” Social capital and college students’ use of online social network sites. Journal of Computer‐Mediated Communication, 12(4), 1143-1168.
18. Ertl, H., Carasso, H., & Holmes, C. (2013). Are Degrees Worth Higher Fees? Perceptions of the Financial Benefits of Entering Higher Education. SKOPE Research Paper No. 117. Centre on Skills, Knowledge and Organisational Performance (SKOPE).
19. Fallows, S., & Steven, C. (2000). Building employability skills into the higher education curriculum: a university-wide initiative. Education+ Training, 42(2), 75-83.
20. Fidan, T., Öztürk Fidan, & Öztürk, H. (2018). Meslek yüksekokulu öğrenci ve mezunlarının kariyer seçimlerine etki eden faktörler ile kariyer beklentileri: Öz yeterliğin aracı rolü. Yükseköğretim Dergisi, doi:10.2399/yod.18.008
21. Fukuyama, F. (2002). Social capital and development: The coming agenda. SAIS Review, 22(1), 23-37.
22. Gumport, P. J. (2000). Academic restructuring: Organizational change and institutional imperatives. Higher Education, 39(1), 67-91.
23. Jæger, M. M. (2011). Does cultural capital really affect academic achievement? New evidence from combined sibling and panel data. Sociology of Education, 84(4), 281-298.
24. Kalfa, S., & Taksa, L. (2015). Cultural capital in business higher education: reconsidering the graduate attributes movement and the focus on employability. Studies in Higher Education, 40(4), 580-595.
25. Kıral, E., & Başaran, R. (2019). Academic leadership. In Tuncer Fidan (Ed.), Vocational identity and career construction in education (pp. 238-257). Hershey, PA: IGI Global.
26. Kiker, B. F. (1971), The Historical Roots of the Concept of Human Capital. In Kiker, B. F. (Eds.), Investment in the human capital (pp. 51-75). Colombia: University of South Carolina Press.
27. Klohnen, E. C. (1996). Conceptual analysis and measurement of the construct of ego-resiliency. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70(5), 1067-1079.
28. Lawshe, C. H. (1975). A quantitative approach to content validity. Personnel psychology, 28(4), 563-575.
29. Lin, N. (1999). Building a network theory of social capital. Connections, 22(1): 28-51.
30. Luthans, F. (2002). Positive organizational behavior: Developing and managing psychological strengths. Academy of Management Perspectives, 16(1), 57-72.
31. Luthans, F., Avolio, B. J., Walumbwa, F. O., & Li, W. (2005). The psychological capital of Chinese workers: Exploring the relationship with performance. Management and Organization Review, 1(2), 249-271.
32. Nesterova, V. D., & Sabirianova, K. Z. (1998) Investment in human capital under economic transformation in Russia. EERC Working Paper Series, No: 99/04.
33. Oğuz, E., & Kasacı, K. (2019). Career journey: Career and life design. In Tuncer Fidan (Ed.), Vocational identity and career construction in education (pp. 122-140). Hershey, PA: IGI Global.
34. Polatcan, M. (2018). Okullarda sosyal sermaye ölçeği: Bir ölçek geliştirme çalışması. Uluslararası Türkçe Edebiyat Kültür Eğitim Dergisi, 7(4), 2721-2732.
35. Quiggin, J. (1999). Human capital theory and education policy in Australia. Australian Economic Review, 32(2), 130-144.
36. Scheier, M. F., & Carver, C. S. (1985). Optimism, coping, and health: assessment and implications of generalized outcome expectancies. Health Psychology, 4(3), 219-247.
37. Schultz, T.W., (1968). Education and economic growth: Return to education. Readings in the economics of education (pp. 277-292). UNESCO, France.
38. Snyder, C. R., Sympson, S. C., Ybasco, F. C., Borders, T. F., Babyak, M. A., & Higgins, R. L. (1996). Development and validation of the State Hope Scale. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70(2), 321-335.
39. Steinfield, C., Ellison, N. B., & Lampe, C. (2008). Social capital, self-esteem, and use of online social network sites: A longitudinal analysis. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 29(6), 434-445.
40. Tavşancıl, E. (2010). Tutumların ölçülmesi ve SPSS ile veri analizi. Ankara: Nobel Yayın Dağıtım.
41. Thurow, L. C., (1970). Investment in human capital. Belmort, CA: Wardsworth Publishing Company.
42. Tomer, J. F. (2016). Integrating human capital with human development: The path to a more productive and humane economy. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.
43. Tzanakis, M. (2011). Bourdieu’s social reproduction thesis and the role of cultural capital in educational attainment: A critical review of key empirical studies. Educate~, 11(1), 76-90.
44. Useem, M., & Karabel, J. (1986). Pathways to top corporate management. American Sociological Review, 51(2), 184-200.
45. Yaylalı, M., & Lebe, F. (2011). Beşeri sermaye ile iktisadi büyüme arasındaki ilişkinin ampirik analizi. Marmara University Journal of the Faculty of Economic & Administrative Sciences, 30(1), 23-51.
46. Yurdugül, H. (2005). Ölçek geliştirme çalışmalarında kapsam geçerliği için kapsam geçerlik indekslerinin kullanılması. XIV. Ulusal Eğitim Bilimleri Kongresi, 1, 771-774, Denizli.