The Impact of Career Education Participation on Academic Self-Efficacy: The Sequential Mediating Role of Career Adaptability and Learning Engagement

In order to clarify the mechanism of how career education impacts academic self-efficacy among Chinese senior high school students, data from 848 senior high school students in China (<i>M_age</i> = 16.88, <i>SD_age</i> = 3.56) were obtained in this study. The goal was to test the independent and sequential mediating effects of career adaptability and learning engagement in the relationship between career education participation and academic self-efficacy. This study revealed that participation in career education significantly enhances academic self-efficacy. Specifically, career adaptability and learning engagement act as sequential mediators in the relationship between career education participation and academic self-efficacy. This study reveals one potential mechanism of how career education participation in schools impacts adolescent academic self-efficacy; the insights presented here have significant implications for the design of educational interventions.