Mediatory Role of Career Decision Making Self Efficacy and Vocational Outcome Expectations on the Relationship between Personalityand Career Goals among Senior Secondary School Students

Current research investigates that personality traits as well as career goals among secondary school students are mediated by vocational outcome expectations (VOE) and career decision-making self-efficacy (CDMSE). Employing the Big Five personality traits framework, the study analyzes how these traits influence students’ career choices and the mechanisms through which self-efficacy and outcome expectations mediate this relationship. Data were collected from 568 secondary school students in the 11th and 12th grades, representing eight schools across eight districts in Tripura, India. Deploying a quantitative approach, standardized questionnaires were administered to assess personality factors, outcome expectations, career goals, and CDMSE. Results demonstrate personality factors or traits, especially openness, have a crucial role in the student’s choice goals, with CDMSE mediating as a significant factor and VOE enhancing this relationship, stressing the relevance of CDMSE in pursuit of career goals. The findings suggest that promoting CDMSE may assist students in utilizing their personality factors more efficiently in the formulation and achievement of career objectives, which are of high degree. However, as the research is based on self-assessment questionnaires, it has certain limitations with respect to generalizing findings, and additional factors that affect Choice Goals should also be analyzed further. These limitations provide potential areas for future research, which should focus on the impact of specific educational programs targeted to enhance CDMSE on student outcomes in different contexts.