Media Exposure and Students' Attitude as Mediators Between Subjective Norms and Choice Intention for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Careers

Many countries have taken various forms of efforts and initiatives to attract more students to join the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce, but shortage of STEM talents remains a worldwide challenge. Concerning this issue, previous studies have frequently discussed the roles of parents, teachers, and peers (subjective norms), as well as media exposure and students' attitude as predictors of students' career choice in STEM. However, there are few studies that examined the mediating roles of media exposure and students' attitude in the relationship between subjective norms and career choice intention. It was indicated in previous studies that there could have been a shift in students' STEM choices because there are changes in their attitude and exposure to the media alongside technology advancement. Hence, this study aimed to determine the mediating roles of media exposure and students' attitude in the relationship between subjective norms and STEM career choice intention in addition to examining the direct causal relationships among the constructs. The hypothesised model was tested with 806 secondary school students in Malaysia. Results from partial least squares structural equation modelling found that subjective norms had both direct and indirect influence on career choice intention. Another highlight of this study is that media exposure and students' attitude were significant mediators between subjective norms and career choice intention. The findings drawn from this study provide insights into the design and development of STEM initiatives for parents, teachers, and students in Malaysia.