Hui Meng
Department of Applied Psychology, East China Normal University
Qiong Han
Secondary Professional Music School Affiliated to Shanghai Conservatory of Music (SCOM)
Wen-Jia Shen
Chenheqin Primary School
Guo-Ying Hang
Shanghai’s Baoshan District Civil Affairs Bureau
The authors report a quasi-experiment to investigate how a special learning orientation program for new college students may influence students’ professional commitment. Ninety-eight college students from a university in an East-Coast city of the People’s Republic of China served as participants. Results show that: (1) The effect of the special learning orientation training program on the students’ professional commitment was significant, especially affective commitment; (2) professional commitment was found to be correlated with professional expectation, professional interest, and general self-efficacy; (3) professional interest and general self-efficacy were found to be correlated with normative commitment, affective commitment, and ideal commitment, but not with economic commitment or opportunity commitment; (4) a complete mediating effect of academic self-efficacy in the relationship between the special learning orientation training program and professional commitment was found. Finally, research implications as well as suggestions for how to improve the college freshmen’s professional commitment are discussed.
Keywords: professional commitment, academic self-efficacy, intervention, special learning orientation training