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Career Adaptability and Academic Achievement Among Chinese High School Students: A Three-Wave Longitudinal Study of Social Cognitive and Metacognitive Mediating Mechanisms

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Career adaptability has been linked to academic achievement, yet the mechanisms underlying this association remain insufficiently understood, particularly among adolescents in highly competitive, exam-oriented educational systems. Based on Career Construction Theory (CCT) and the performance model of Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT), this study tested whether academic self-efficacy, academic outcome expectations, and metacognitive strategies mediated this association. A three-wave longitudinal study was conducted with 519 students from two general high schools in central China (40.85% boys; mean age = 16.28 years, SD = 0.82). Career adaptability was measured at Time 1, the three mediators were measured at Time 2, and academic achievement was measured at Time 1 and Time 3 using standardized examination scores in Chinese, mathematics, and English. After controlling for baseline achievement and demographic covariates, structural equation modeling with bias-corrected bootstrapping showed that T1 career adaptability had a significant total effect on T3 academic achievement, whereas the direct effect was nonsignificant after the mediators were included. Significant indirect effects were found through academic self-efficacy and metacognitive strategies. Academic outcome expectations did not significantly mediate the association, and the pathway from academic self-efficacy to academic outcome expectations was not supported. These findings indicate that career adaptability may contribute to later academic achievement mainly through students' academic self-efficacy and metacognitive strategy use.

Source: Journal of Intelligence

DOI: 10.3390/jintelligence14060111

Authors: Ziluo Yan, Zhiyu Xu, Le Zhang, Yutong Guo

Institutions: Nanjing University, Hunan Normal University, Beijing Normal University, Xi'an Academy of Fine Arts

Language: English

Topic: Career Development and Diversity

Subfield: Safety Research

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Quality education

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,137