Publication Date
2025
Document Type
Dissertation/Thesis
First Advisor
Zhu, Peitao
Second Advisor
Lee, Injung
Degree Name
Ph.D. (Doctor of Philosophy)
Legacy Department
Department of Counseling and Higher Education (CAHE)
Abstract
Counseling and counselor education programs consider researcher development as a core component of professional development, preparing students and scholars to contribute to knowledge and evidence-based practices in the field. Despite this importance, researcher development remains understudied, especially for international graduate students in counseling and counselor education programs. Guided by the Social Cognitive Career Theory framework, this dissertation quantitively examined the impact of person, socio-cognitive, and environmental factors on researcher development for international graduate students. This study was correlational in nature and adopted a cross-sectional survey design. The sample for the current study was 85 international graduate students or recent graduate students in counseling and counselor education programs across US, over the age of 18 who currently are or have received research mentorship during their graduate programs. All data were collected through web based Qualtrics survey. Recruitment occurred through program coordinators (CACREP and non-CACREP programs), professional listservs, personal and professional contacts, and messaging applications. Preliminary analyses (descriptive statistics, statistical assumptions, Pearson’s correlation and McDonald Omega for reliability) were conducted using SPSS Version 29. Path analysis using Mplus 8.11 assessed model fit and direct effects, with mediation tested using 1,000 bootstrap samples. An exploratory path analysis was also conducted. Findings supported the model fit while highlighting a direct path from Grit to Research Outcome Expectations, which has previously not been explored. The study highlights the pivotal role of Grit and its association with Research Self-Efficacy and Research Outcome Expectations for researcher development among international graduate students. Notably, Research Outcome Expectations emerged as a mediator independent of Research Self-Efficacy, challenging prior assumptions about their directional relationship. The roles of Research Mentoring and Grit in predicting Research Self-Efficacy, Research Outcome Expectations, and Research Interest are discussed. Limitations and implications for theory development, methodological contributions, and researcher development practices in counseling and counselor education are discussed.
Recommended Citation
Jha, Priyanka, "Path Analysis of Person, Socio-Cognitive, Environmental Factors on International Counseling Students’ Researcher Development" (2025). Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations. 8064.
https://huskiecommons.lib.niu.edu/allgraduate-thesesdissertations/8064
Extent
213 pages
Language
en
Publisher
Northern Illinois University
Rights Statement
In Copyright
Rights Statement 2
NIU theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from Huskie Commons for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without the written permission of the authors.
Media Type
Text
