Modeling the Factors Affecting the Career Planning Process of Sports Science Faculty Student-Athletes in Türkiye: Principal Component Analysis Approach

Career planning has a complex structure that begins during childhood. Therefore, many internal and external factors can affect career planning. This study aimed to model the potential factors affecting the career planning of sports science faculty students using principal component analysis (PCA). In this study, the opinions of 273 university students from three departments regarding the career planning process were assessed using a scale comprising five sub-dimensions (career awareness, faith in career, accuracy of selection, professional awareness, and education proficiency). Potential factors affecting the career planning process (sex, faculty department, grade level, employment status, and coaching certificate) were determined, and 2730 data points were obtained. While the data were modeled using PCA, data preprocessing, standardization, and suitability tests were performed. The KMO test was used to assess sample adequacy. Components with eigenvalues ≥1 that explained at least 60% of the variance were interpreted. Those with factor loadings >0.7 were retained. Thirteen PCA models were created in this study. Career awareness had a positive effect on students with a coaching certificate (λ = 0.50), men (λ = 0.53), and sports management students (λ = 0.50). It had a negative impact on those who were not certified (λ = -0.51), unemployed (λ = -0.53), in the first three grade levels (λ = -0.51 to -0.54), and coaching education students (λ = -0.53). Additionally, professional awareness negatively affected the physical education department (λ = -0.51) and employed students (λ = 0.49). This study can provide valuable insights for educational institutions and policymakers by deepening understanding of the factors affecting career planning in the sports sciences