A comparison of the relationships between levels of commitment and levels of professional socialization and how they relate to college student persistence.

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to examine the relationships between professional socialization, professional commitment, and college students' intent to persist toward degree attainment. The subjects (182) were first-year, students at a small, private, church-supported university. The methodology included: ANOVA, Pearson's r, factor analysis, and partial correlation coefficient. The data collection tool constructed for this study included: the Professional Socialization Inventory Checklist (PSIC), the Commitment Inventory Checklist (CIC), the Intent to Persist Scale (IPS). The results revealed that professional socialization, commitment, and the intent to persist were independent of each other. Except for the independent relationships between the Intent to Persist Scale (IPS) and the other two (2) instruments, the results correlated with the literature review. Future research is proposed using the two (2) instruments along with an expanded version of the Intent to Persist Scale.