The purpose of this study was to investigate how foundational elements of Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT), self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and goal orientation could be extended to determine if there were significant differences between career and technical (CTE) and traditional associate degree seeking students at a community college. Participants included 314 community college students. Survey data was gathered and analyzed using a new SCCT-based model, Social Cognitive Career Theory Community College Model (SCCT-CCM) for three SCCT foundational constructs–self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and goal orientation. SCCT-CCM was found to be valid and reliable. Data analysis utilized one-way MANOVAs to examine differences among demographic sub-groups. Follow-up univariate analyses and post-hoc analyses were conducted to examine the groups with significant differences between means. No significant differences were found between CTE students and non-CTE students for goal orientation, outcome expectations, and self-efficacy than their non-CTE peers. Significant mean differences were found in goal orientation for the age, gender, and employment sub-groups. Additionally, significant mean differences were found in gender group across the outcome expectations subscale. No significant differences were found within ethnicity or first-generation groups participating in the study. The findings suggest there may be intervention opportunities on community college campuses to increase socio-cognitive outcomes among their students. © 2025 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
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