Factores que afectan la percepción de los estudiantes de secundaria sobre la profesión de trabajo social en el Delta del Mekong Vietnamita: un estudio de caso en la Provincia de Dong ap Duong Van Khanh¹, Nguyen i Bich Hung², Nguyen i Xuan Dai³ ¹School of Social and Public Administration, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China; Department of Social Work, Dong ap University, Dong ap 870000, Vietnam. E-mail: dvkhanh@dthu.edu.vn; ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-0507-9782 ²Department of Social Work, Dong ap University, Dong ap 870000, Vietnam. E-mail: ntbhung@dthu.edu.vn; ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-1676-1085 ³Faculty of Social Sciences Teacher Education, School of Education, Dong ap University, Dong ap 870000, Vietnam. E-mail: ntxdai@dthu.edu.vn (corresponding author); ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0009- 0000-8570-9876 Resumen: El artículo identiﬁca los factores que afectan la percepción de la profesión de trabajo social entre los estudiantes de secundaria y las diferencias entre estos factores según las características demográﬁcas en las escuelas secundarias de la Provincia de Dong ap. El estudio construyó una escala que comprende 25 variables observables a través de una encuesta aleatoria a 270 estudiantes de secundaria para evaluar el nivel de inﬂuencia en la percepción de la profesión de trabajo social. Los hallazgos muestran que hay tres fac- tores que inﬂuyen en la percepción de los estudiantes sobre la profesión de trabajo social: el factor personal, las características especíﬁcas de la profesión y la inﬂuencia de la familia, amigos y maestros. El nivel medio de inﬂuencia en el factor personal es el más alto con 3.09 (DE=0.72), seguido por el puntaje medio del factor de inﬂuencia de la familia, amigos y maestros con 3.02 (DE=0.70), y el puntaje medio más bajo es para las características espe- cíﬁcas de la profesión de trabajo social con 2.99 (DE=0.71). Además, indican diferencias en los puntajes medios de los factores de inﬂuencia, con las estudiantes obteniendo puntajes más altos que los estudiantes, y los estudiantes que estudian la carrera de Ciencias Sociales teniendo puntajes medios más altos en los factores de inﬂuencia en comparación con los estudiantes que estudian la carrera de Ciencias Naturales (p<0.05). Los hallazgos propor- cionaron una base para que las escuelas diseñen programas de orientación y asesoramiento profesional para los estudiantes de manera más adecuada y efectiva. Palabras clave: percepción, profesión de trabajo social, estudiantes de secundaria, Delta del Mekong vietnamita, Provincia de Dong ap. Recibido: 22/07/2024 ~ Aceptado: 25/07/2025 INTERACCIÓN Y PERSPECTIVA Revista de Trabajo Social ISSN 2244-808X ~ Dep. Legal pp 201002Z43506 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.16910512 Vol. 15 (3): 672 - 682 pp, 2025

Factores que afectan la percepción de los estudiantes de secundaria sobre la profesión de trabajo social en el Delta del Mekong Vietnamita: un estudio de caso en la Provincia de Dong Thap 673 Vol. 15(3) julio - diciembre 2025/ 672 - 682 Factors aﬀecting high school students’ perception of social work profession in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta: a case study in Dong ap Province Abstract. The article identifies the factors that affect the perception of the social work profession among high school students and the differences between these factors according to demographic characteristics in high schools in Dong Thap Province. The study built a scale comprising 25 observable variables through a random survey of 270 high school students to assess the level of influence on the perception of the social work profession. The findings show that there are three factors that influence students’ perception of the social work profession: the personal factor, the specific characteristics of the profession, and the influence of family, friends, and teachers. The average level of influence in the personal factor is the highest at 3.09 (SD = 0.72), followed by the average score of the influence factor of family, friends, and teachers at 3.02 (SD = 0.70), and the lowest average score is for the specific characteristics of the social work profession at 2.99 (SD = 0.71). In addition, differences in the average scores of the influencing factors are indicated, with female students obtaining higher scores than male students, and students studying the Social Sciences major having higher average scores in the influencing factors compared to students studying the Natural Sciences major (p < 0.05). The findings provided a basis for schools to design career guidance and counseling programs for students in a more appropriate and effective way. Keywords: perception; social work profession, high school students, Vietnamese Mekong Delta, Dong ap Province. INTRODUCTION Social work is a scientiﬁc and professional ﬁeld aimed at assisting vulnerable individuals, groups, and communities to address diﬃcult issues, focusing on human interaction with the social environment, thereby enhancing their problem-solving abilities and adaptability in life. is profes- sion has assisted various vulnerable groups in society such as children, the elderly, women, people with disabilities, and has applications in areas such as family, schools, hospitals, and social welfare (Jones & Truell, 2012). Globally, the field of social work has developed in Europe and the Americas and has evolved into a professional occupation in developed countries for over a century. In Vietnam, the field of social work was established later compared to developed countries and has only been shaped through legal assistance systems and social policies since the reform period in 1986 (Bui, 2012; H. H. Nguyen, 2018). In order to develop social work into a professional occupation, fulfill the mission of helping people enhance resilience abilities and problem-solv- ing skills, connect people to access support resources and social services to improve their qual- ity of life, and bring about sustainable and harmonious development between individuals and social environment, the Prime Minister of Vietnam signed Decision No. 32/2010/QĐ-TTg approving the scheme on the developmet of the Social work profession during 2010-2020,

674 Van Khanh, Bich Hung, Xuan Dai Interacción y Perspectiva. Revista de Trabajo Social Vol. 15(3): 2025 marking an important milestone for the social work profession in Vietnam with the goal: “Develop social work into a profession in Vietnam; enhance social awareness of the social work profession; build a sufficient quantity of social work officers, civil servants, employees, and collaborators meeting quality requirements, linked to the development of social work service delivery systems at all levels, contributing to the construction of an advanced social welfare system” (Prime Minister of Vietnam, 2010). The main goal of the project is to develop social work into a professional occupation in Vietnam, wherein raising societal awareness of the social work profession is one of its key objectives. However, in the current context, it is evident that many people still do not understand the social work profession. A significant por- tion of public opinion still confuses and equates social work with charitable activities, lacking comprehensive understanding of the function, role, and purpose of providing social services, which serve as tools to convey social policies to the people within the social welfare system of the social work profession (H. H. Nguyen, 2015; T. H. Nguyen, 2014). This issue has become a major barrier in training social work personnel to meet social needs, especially influencing career orientation in social work for high school students in current educational institutions. Understanding a profession among students often depends on various factors, particu- larly those related to future career choices. For high school students, career selection is a top priority and the most significant decision for graduating students, as it profoundly influences their future (T. X. T. Le, 2015). Choosing a profession is a decisive process for students, espe- cially in a relatively new field like social work where students’ perception of the profession is crucial and influenced by many factors. Based on a synthesis of several studies on the factors influencing students’ perception and career choices, three fundamental factors emerge: (a) In- trinsic factors (personal preferences, individual characteristics such as personality, appearance, and job satisfaction) (Karaca et al., 2016); (b) Extrinsic factors (salary, job opportunities, social status, advancement opportunities) (Agarwala, 2008); (c) Influence from surroundings (family members’ occupations, family guidance, teacher advice, and peer influence) (Alyafei, 2018; Carpenter & Foster, 1977). Identifying the factors influencing perception of the social work profession is essential and crucial to assist schools and families in providing appropriate support, guidance, and counseling to help students make informed decisions regarding their future career choices in this field. In recent years, the situation of social work specialization training at university edu- cation institutions has provided evidence for the aforementioned issue. A considerable number of students, upon beginning their studies in social work at university institu- tions, feel unsuitable, leading to frustration and a desire to switch to other majors. Some students have even dropped out after a period of study due to feeling that the profession does not align with their abilities and aspirations. This reality has significantly impacted the quality of social work human resources training at university education institutions in Vietnam (Mai et al., 2023). One of the main reasons we believe is the primary impact is the vague and intuitive perception of high school students about the social work profession. It is imperative and urgent to enhance communication eﬀorts and increase students’ understanding before they actually choose to study this profession. Furthermore, it helps students to carefully consider before deciding to commit themselves to a speciﬁc profession. erefore, this study is conducted with the aim of identifying the factors inﬂuencing high school students’ perception of the social work profession, while also explor-

Factores que afectan la percepción de los estudiantes de secundaria sobre la profesión de trabajo social en el Delta del Mekong Vietnamita: un estudio de caso en la Provincia de Dong Thap 675 Vol. 15(3) julio - diciembre 2025/ 672 - 682 ing the correlation between these inﬂuencing factors and the demographic factors of high school students in Dong ap Province. e research ﬁndings serve as a basis for proposing suitable career counseling solutions to enhance the perception of the social work profession among high school students in the coming time. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Data Collection is research was carried out using a cross-sectional descriptive method through a random survey of 270 high school students from grade 10 to grade 12 in high schools in Dong ap Prov- ince participating in the survey process and fully answering the questions in the form of self-ﬁlling on the questionaires. Among the 270 surveyed high school students, each grade level and gender group had 90 participants. ere was not a signiﬁcant diﬀerence in participation rates between the two gender groups, with 133 male students participating, accounting for 49.3%, and 137 female students participating, accounting for 50.7%. Research Design e research was carried out through a survey questionnaire, with the questionnaire infor- mation pre-designed and delivered to the students for self-response. Before distributing the pre- designed self-completion questionnaires, the investigators introduced the students to the purpose of the study, while also explaining certain terms such as occupational perception, the social work profession, and factors inﬂuencing perception of the profession. During the questionnaire comple- tion process, students were arranged to sit individually at separate desks, and the researchers directly supervised the students’ completion of the questionnaires and addressed any queries the students had while responding to the questions. e questions about consultation demand of students are designed on a 5-point Likert scale, with values ranging from 1 to 5, of which 1 as “absolutely not inﬂuential”, 2 as “not inﬂuential”, 3 as “neutral”, 4 as “inﬂuential”, and 5 as “strongly inﬂuential”. e research will be conducted after obtaining approval from the School Board. Students par- ticipating in the study will be clearly briefed on the purpose and content of the research, emphasiz- ing anonymity and data security. Data Analysis The collected data will be entered and processed using the statistical software SPSS ver- sion 26. Cronbach’s Alpha reliability coefficient will be employed to examine the correlation coefficient and relationships among variables. Adhering to Cronbach’s Alpha rule and assess- ing internal consistency, α > 0.9 indicates excellent reliability, 0.8 < α < 0.9 signifies good reliability, 0.7 < α < 0.8 implies acceptable reliability, 0.6 < α < 0.7 suggests poor reliability, and α < 0.6 is considered unacceptable. After testing the reliability of the scales, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) will be conducted to explore which scales are suitable for the structure of the problem under investigation. In the EFA, variables with factor loadings above 0.5 will be retained (Hair, 2010), and the cumulative variance extracted should be greater than 50% (Gerbing & Anderson, 1988). The influencing factor groups will be calculated for mean

676 Van Khanh, Bich Hung, Xuan Dai Interacción y Perspectiva. Revista de Trabajo Social Vol. 15(3): 2025 scores. Additionally, the study will utilize T-test and ANOVA to compare the differences in mean scores of factors across gender and Basic Sciences, Social Sciences or Natural Sciences fields among high school students. RESEARCH RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Descriptive statistical results The study presented 25 observable variables using a 5-point Likert scale (absolutely not influential, not influential, neutral, influential, strongly influential) for students to assess which criteria had the most impact on them under the form of rating from 1 to 5. Subse- quently, we calculated the mean score for each criterion. The results in Table 1 show that the criterion “You want to help others” was rated as having the most influence by students with an mean score of 3.17. Next, the criteria “Self-interest in participating in social activities” and “Personality, competence align with the professional requirements of social work” were both rated as having the second-highest influence with an mean score of 3.12. The criterion “Parents, relatives, family members work in the field of social work and influence you” was rated as having the second-lowest mean score of 2.92, and the criterion “Physical appearance and physique are not suitable for other professions” was rated as having the lowest mean score of 2.85. TABLE 1. Description of the mean values of factors inﬂuencing the perception of the social work profession among high school students in the study area Observable Variables N Mean SD Q.1. Self-interest in participating in social activities. 270 3.05 0.897 Q.2. Self has passion, interest in the ﬁeld of social work. 270 3.12 0.845 Q.3. Personality, competence align with the professional requirements of social work. 270 3.12 0.880 Q.4. Oneself thinks that this profession is charity, volunteering. 270 3.01 0.871 Q.5. You want to help others. 270 3.17 0.910 Q.6. Want to aﬃrm self-worth, contribute to society. 270 3.10 0.890 Q.7. Physical and appearance are not suitable for other professions. 270 2.85 0.921 Q.8. Parents, relatives, family members work in the ﬁeld of social work and inﬂuence you. 270 2.92 0.865 Q.9. Friends, acquaintances are studying in the social work ﬁeld, and they inﬂuence you. 270 3.02 0.853 Q.10. Friends, acquaintances are working in the social work ﬁeld, and they inﬂuence you. 270 2.97 0.864 Q.11. Impact of career guidance programs on media, social networks. 270 3.09 0.822 Q.12. Impact of Youth Union activities, local associations where you live. 270 3.07 0.796 Q.13. Impact of charity activities you have known or participated in. 270 3.08 0.830

Factores que afectan la percepción de los estudiantes de secundaria sobre la profesión de trabajo social en el Delta del Mekong Vietnamita: un estudio de caso en la Provincia de Dong Thap 677 Vol. 15(3) julio - diciembre 2025/ 672 - 682 Preliminary assessment of the scale by Cronbach’s Alpha reliability coeﬃcient e scale “Factors inﬂuencing high school students’ perceptions of social work profession” consists of 3 components and 25 measurement variables. e results of the reliability analysis of the scale all yielded good results, with all measurement variables above 0.3. erefore, with the 25 variables included in the Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), all scale components had Cronbach’s Alpha coef- ﬁcients >0.6, meeting the requirements. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) e results of the factor analysis on the 25 observed variables measuring the inﬂuencing factors were grouped into 3 factor groups: individual factors, factors speciﬁc to the social work profession, and factors inﬂuenced by family, friends, and teachers. TABLE 2. Eigenvalues Component Eigenvalues Total % of Variance Cumulative Variance (%) I (Individual Factors) 14.907 59.627 59.627 II (Factors Speciﬁc to Social Work Profession) 1.769 7.078 66.705 III (Factors Inﬂuenced by Family, Friends, Teachers) 1.105 4.422 71.126 From the statistical results in Table 2, Factor 1 (consisting of 8 sub-items) explains 59.627% of the variance in the scale, Factor 2 (consisting of 9 sub-items) explains 7.078% of the variance, and Factor 3 (consisting of 8 sub-items) explains 4.422% of the variance. In total, the 3 factors explain 71.126% of the variance in the scale. Observable Variables N Mean SD Q.14. Admiration for a speciﬁc individual model who is working eﬀectively in the ﬁeld of social work. 270 3.00 0.845 Q.15. Teachers inform you about the social work profession. 270 3.04 0.863 Q.16. Friends inform you about the social work profession. 270 3.03 0.822 Q.17. rough school career counseling sessions. 270 3.04 0.861 Q.18. Studying social work is easy to ﬁnd employment after graduation. 270 2.98 0.890 Q.19. Studying social work can work in many diﬀerent ﬁelds. 270 3.04 0.853 Q.20. Studying social work can work in international non-governmental organizations. 270 3.03 0.847 Q.21. is is a new, interesting ﬁeld to explore. 270 3.06 0.845 Q.22. is ﬁeld belongs to the social group so it is not diﬃcult to learn. 270 2.94 0.869 Q.23. is ﬁeld is receiving attention from the state so there are many development opportunities after graduation. 270 3.02 0.783 Q.24. Lack of information about the profession, ﬁeld of study, training schools and job opportunities in social work. 270 3.04 0.866 Q.25. Not knowing society has this profession. 270 3.00 0.856 TABLE 1. Continuación

678 Van Khanh, Bich Hung, Xuan Dai Interacción y Perspectiva. Revista de Trabajo Social Vol. 15(3): 2025 TABLE 3. Correlation values of observable variables and Cronbach’s Alpha values of Inﬂuencing factors Factors and Observable variables Correlation values of Observable variables I II III I. Individual Factors Q.3. Your personality and abilities are suitable for the professional requirements of social work. 0.820 Q.2. Self has passion, interest in the ﬁeld of social work. 0.819 Q.5. You want to help others. 0.816 Q.1. You enjoy participating in social activities. 0.792 Q.6. You want to aﬃrm your self-worth and contribute to society. 0.628 Q.17. rough school career counseling sessions. 0.612 Q.11. e impact of career guidance programs on various media and social networks. 0.536 Q.4. Oneself thinks that this profession is charity, volunteering. 0.533 Cronbach’s Alpha value (8 observable variables) 0.930 II. Factors Speciﬁc to Social Work Profession Q.19. Social work studies can lead to employment in various ﬁelds. 0.760 Q.24. Lack of information about the profession, ﬁeld of study, training institutions, and job opportunities in social work. 0.759 Q.22. is ﬁeld belongs to the social sciences, so it is not diﬃcult to learn. 0.716 Q.23. is ﬁeld is receiving attention from the government, hence, there are many development opportunities after graduation. 0.698 Q.21. is is a new, interesting ﬁeld to explore. 0.693 Q.25. Not knowing society has this profession. 0.638 Q.18. Social work studies make it easy to ﬁnd employment after graduation. 0.637 Q.20. Social work studies can lead to work in international non-governmental organizations. 0.631 Q.7. Physical appearance and physique are not suitable for other professions. 0.564 Cronbach’s Alpha value (9 observable variables) 0.942 III. Factors Inﬂuenced by Family, Friends, Teachers Q.10. Friends, acquaintances are working in the social work ﬁeld, and they inﬂuence you. 0.830 Q.9. Friends, acquaintances are studying in the social work ﬁeld, and they inﬂuence you. 0.787 Q.8. Parents, relatives, family members work in the ﬁeld of social work and inﬂuence you. 0.723 Q.12. Impact of Youth Union activities, local associations where you live. 0.625 Q.16. Friends inform you about the social work profession. 0.610 Q.13. e inﬂuence of charity activities you have known or participated in. 0.600 Q.14. Admiring a speciﬁc individual who is eﬀectively working in the ﬁeld of social work. 0.531 Q.15. Teachers inform you about the social work profession. 0.505 Cronbach’s Alpha value (8 observable variables) 0.937 Cronbach’s Alpha value for the entire scale (25 observable variables) = 0.971.

Factores que afectan la percepción de los estudiantes de secundaria sobre la profesión de trabajo social en el Delta del Mekong Vietnamita: un estudio de caso en la Provincia de Dong Thap 679 Vol. 15(3) julio - diciembre 2025/ 672 - 682 e reliability of the scale was assessed through internal consistency using Cronbach’s Alpha coeﬃcient for each factor and for the entire scale. According to the statistical results in Table 3, the scale measuring factors inﬂuencing the perception of social work profession consists of 3 factors with Cronbach’s alpha values as follows: Factor 1 = 0.930, Factor 2 = 0.942, Factor 3 = 0.937 (all reaching good levels), and the overall scale reliability = 0.971 (reaching a good level) (Cicchetti et al., 2011; Müller & Büttner, 1994). e results indicate that the tool demonstrates good internal consistency according to the literature in social science research (Müller & Büttner, 1994). Veriﬁcation of the diﬀerences between factors inﬂuencing the perception of Social work profession and socio-demographic factors of high school students e logical validity of the tool was analyzed by comparing the mean scores of factors inﬂuenc- ing the perception of social work profession across diﬀerent groups based on gender and academic level. In this study, the mean scores of factors inﬂuencing the perception of social work profession were calculated as the mean scores of the variables constituting each factor. e mean score for the individual factor was 3.09 (SD=0.72, ranging from 1-5). e mean score for the factor speciﬁc to the social work profession was 2.99 (SD=0.71, ranging from 1-5). e mean score for the family, friends, and teachers factor was 3.02 (SD=0.70, ranging from 1-5). TABLE 4. Mean values of factors inﬂuencing perception of Social work profession by gender Factors Male Female p-value Mean values of individual factor 2.99 (SD = 0.74) 3.17 (SD = 0.68) 0.044 Mean values of profession-speciﬁc factor 2.89 (SD = 0.72) 3.09 (SD = 0.69) 0.021 Mean values of family, friends, teachers factor 2.87 (SD = 0.72) 3.16 (SD = 0.66) 0.001 Testing diﬀerences in mean scores of inﬂuencing factors by gender reveals that the mean scores of inﬂuencing factors among female students are higher than those among male students, and this diﬀerence is statistically signiﬁcant. TABLE 5. Mean values of factors inﬂuencing perception of Social work profession by ﬁeld of study Basic Sciences major Natural Sciences major Social Sciences major p-value Mean value of individual factor 3.04 (SD = 0.69) 2.93 (SD = 0.79) 3.28 (SD = 0.60) 0.003 Mean value of profession-speciﬁc factor 3.03 (SD =0.68) 2.84 (SD = 0.78) 3.11 (SD = 0.64) 0.026 Mean value of family, friends, teachers factor 3.03 (SD = 0.68) 2.81 (SD = 0.76) 3.21 (SD = 0.60) 0.001

680 Van Khanh, Bich Hung, Xuan Dai Interacción y Perspectiva. Revista de Trabajo Social Vol. 15(3): 2025 e mean score of the individual factor for students in the Social Sciences ﬁeld is the highest at 3.28, followed by the Basic Sciences ﬁeld at 3.04, and the Natural Sciences ﬁeld at 2.93. It is evident that students in the Social Sciences ﬁeld have a signiﬁcantly higher mean score compared to those in the Basic and Natural Sciences ﬁeld, with a p-value of 0.003. e mean score of the profession-speciﬁc factor for students in the Social Sciences ﬁeld is the highest at 3.11, followed by the Basic Sciences ﬁeld at 3.03, and the Natural Sciences ﬁeld at 2.84. Students in the Social Sciences ﬁeld exhibit a signiﬁcantly higher mean score compared to those in the Basic and Natural Sciences ﬁeld, with a p-value of 0.026. e mean score of the family, friends, teachers factor for students in the Social Sciences major is the highest at 3.21, followed by the Basic ﬁeld at 3.03, and the Natural Sciences ﬁeld at 2.81. Stu- dents in the Social Sciences ﬁeld demonstrate a signiﬁcantly higher mean score compared to those in the Basic and Natural Sciences ﬁeld, with a p-value of 0.001. DISCUSSIONS e primary objective of the study was to (1) identify the factors inﬂuencing perceptions of the social work profession among high school students, including individual factors, profession-speciﬁc factors, and factors inﬂuenced by family, friends, and teachers, and (2) understand the diﬀerences in these factors among students based on gender and academic streams. e study identiﬁed three main factors inﬂuencing students’ perceptions of the social work profession: individual factors (8 variables), profession-speciﬁc factors (9 variables), and factors inﬂuenced by family, friends, and teachers (8 variables). e reliability of each factor and the overall scale was assessed for internal consistency, with acceptable results indicated by Cronbach’s alpha values, as supported by the litera- ture. Furthermore, the results revealed diﬀerences in the inﬂuencing factors categorized by gender, speciﬁcally, female students scored higher on mean in these factors compared to male students. is ﬁnding suggests the continued importance of gender in career perceptions and decision-making among high school students. Moreover, students in the Social Sciences ﬁeld demonstrated the high- est mean scores in factors inﬂuencing perceptions, followed by students in the Basic and Natural Sciences ﬁelds. is observation aligns with the vocational landscape in Vietnam, where the social work profession is more aligned with students in the Social Sciences and Basic Sciences ﬁelds. e study uncovered several signiﬁcant ﬁndings. Firstly, the students’ responses indicated the delineation of variables into three distinct factors inﬂuencing perceptions of the social work pro- fession among high school students. is suggests that the questionnaire was well-designed and yielded results encompassing individual factors, profession-speciﬁc factors, and factors inﬂuenced by family, friends, and teachers. e correlation between individual and familial factors with career perceptions corroborates previous studies by Calaguas (2017) (Calaguas, 2017) and Le i uy (2016) (T. T. Le, 2016). Speciﬁcally, the profession-speciﬁc factor, particularly students’ assessments of job prospects and salary considerations, had the most signiﬁcant impact on students’ perceptions, consistent with ﬁndings by Agarwala (2008) (Agarwala, 2008) and Gokuladas (2010) (Gokuladas, 2010). Secondly, the results also indicated gender diﬀerences in inﬂuencing factors, with female students scoring higher on these factors compared to male students. is ﬁnding underscores the continued importance of gender in career perceptions and decisions, aligning with traditional gen- der roles in professions such as healthcare, education, and social work (Kim & Reifel, 2010).

Factores que afectan la percepción de los estudiantes de secundaria sobre la profesión de trabajo social en el Delta del Mekong Vietnamita: un estudio de caso en la Provincia de Dong Thap 681 Vol. 15(3) julio - diciembre 2025/ 672 - 682 In the UK, Furness (2007) found that from 2002 to 2005, 83% of social work students were female (Furness, 2007), highlighting the ongoing signiﬁcance of gender in career perceptions and decisions among high school students. In the current Vietnamese context, eﬀorts towards gen- der equality in professions are being emphasized, necessitating strategies to enhance male students’ awareness of the social work profession and attract them to consider it as a career option. Addition- ally, the results indicated that students in the Social Sciences ﬁeld exhibited the highest mean scores in inﬂuencing factors, followed by the Basic Sciences ﬁeld, and the lowest mean scores were observed in the Natural Sciences ﬁeld. is evaluation is consistent with the vocational trends in Vietnam, where the social work profession aligns well with students in the Social Sciences and Basic ﬁelds. Despite certain limitations, such as the restricted sample size, we hope to expand the scope of research in the future to include high schools in other provinces within the Mekong Delta region to provide a more comprehensive evaluation of the factors inﬂuencing perceptions of the social work profession among high school students. Nevertheless, these ﬁndings hold signiﬁcant theoretical and practical implications. e study’s ﬁndings oﬀer a clearer understanding of the groups of factors inﬂuencing perceptions of the social work profession among high school students, encompassing individual factors, profession-speciﬁc factors, and factors inﬂuenced by family, friends, and teachers. Moreover, these ﬁndings have prac- tical implications in the current Vietnamese context, where career guidance is becoming increas- ingly important and inﬂuential in shaping the career aspirations of high school students. erefore, educational policymakers need to design and develop career guidance programs that can harness students’ interests and aptitudes in diﬀerent vocational ﬁelds, enabling students to make informed decisions aligned with their personal and professional goals. CONCLUSION Accurate career awareness for selecting a profession that aligns with one’s personality is a crucial factor for high school students. It is essential to determine the factors upon which students’ percep- tions of the social work profession depend, so that counselors can provide tailored career guidance programs. e ﬁndings reveal three inﬂuencing factors: individual factors, profession-speciﬁc fac- tors, and factors inﬂuenced by family, friends, and teachers. ere are variations in the mean scores of these factors based on gender and academic streams. ese ﬁndings highlight that a comprehen- sive understanding of the social work profession by students depends on multiple factors. erefore, schools and families need to identify the factors inﬂuencing students’ perceptions of this profession to provide suitable career guidance, enabling students to make informed decisions. is study is a novel exploration that speciﬁcally identiﬁes factors inﬂuencing students’ perceptions of the social work profession. e research ﬁndings serve as a foundation for further studies in the future. BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES • Agarwala, T. (2008). Factors inﬂuencing career choice of management students in India. Career Development International, 13(4), 362–376. https://doi.org/10.1108/13620430810880844 • Alyafei, A. S. (2018). Contextual Factors Aﬀecting Social Work Career Choice among Qatari Students. European Journal of Social Sciences, 56(1), 102–114. http://www.europeanjournalo- fsocialsciences.com/

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