Understanding career persistence: Integrating socio-cognitive and psychological contract perspectives

Australia ranks below all other OECD countries in creating science professionals and this could have detrimental long-term effects on the country’s economic future. In this project, we examine the factors affecting career persistence (i.e., the continued participation of students and professionals) in the science discipline. We integrate socio-cognitive and psychological contract perspectives and develop and test a model of antecedents of career persistence. A series of studies utilizing qualitative and quantitative methodologies will be used to assess the model. This project offers academic, professional and business organizations informed choices regarding intervention strategies to promote persistence and sustain the science workforce.