Career education has historically been a subject of considerable significance and interest on an international scale. The prominence of career education in senior high school has grown in China in tandem with the intensification of reforms in basic education. Both SS for career education among senior high school students and the demand for such programs have increased significantly in recent years (1). High school students' RCE are impacted by a multitude of factors, encompassing both intrinsic psychological resources and extrinsic ones like SS. This study investigated the associations between the reactions of high school students toward career education and four key variables: SS, hope, CE, and CA, under the Career Construction Theory (CCT). Additionally, the influencing mechanisms were investigated to provide a benchmark for advancing career education in senior high schools.
Social Support
SS encompasses all processes that enhance health and well-being via social connections; it includes both objective and perceived social support. The term "objective social support" predominantly denotes the provision of assistance by members of his/her social circle. Conversely, perceived SS concerns an individual's estimation of the extent to which others support them or their level of contentment with the assistance they receive from others (2). The majority of research has employed perceived SS as a metric for assessing SS. The social life of senior high school students is predominantly centered on the school and family unit, given the more confined nature of the school environment. The majority of these students' SS system consists of classmates, close friends in school, teachers, parents, and school staff. Therefore, investigating the level of perceived SS among senior high school students with regard to the aforementioned factors would be significant and beneficial. The CASSS was selected for this research due to its construction on scenarios that are commonly encountered by adolescents (3,4).
Regarding the effects of SS on personal mental and physical well-being, as well as coping mechanisms for unforeseen circumstances, the prevailing consensus among researchers is that SS exerts a positive and advantageous impact, as supported by the main effect hypothesis, direct effect hypothesis, and buffering hypothesis. Considerable research has been devoted to SS as a situational factor in the process of career construction within the domain of career education. Essential SS has the potential to generate a positive and reinforcing influence on students. For example, Kemer and Atik (5) found that SS can predict the level of hope among high school pupils with a high degree of accuracy. The more SS an individual receives, the greater the likelihood that they will accomplish their objectives and the greater their level of optimism, according to YANG et al. (6). Eccles (7) noted that parents, in their capacity as "expectancy socializers" throughout a child's development, can substantially influence a range of facets pertaining to family support. These facets include the development of adolescents' academic self-concept and vocational efficacy. Before school, parents frequently encourage career exploration and intervene in the career development of their children. The active and positive influence of parental support on the career development of high school students is evident in their forthcoming career planning and advancement (8). Individual career aspirations are influenced by one's family of origin, according to Lustig et al. (9), who discovered that greater family cohesion correlates with reduced levels of commitment anxiety, individual decision perplexity, and external conflicts. Regarding school support, certain scholars believe that the foremost challenge confronting high schools is to adequately equip students for their forthcoming pursuits in higher education. In this regard, comprehensive facilities and teaching personnel are deemed essential metrics for assessing the caliber of schools (10). The school's impact on the future career development of high school students is of the utmost importance, given the substantial time they dedicate to academic pursuits (11). Enhanced assistance from educational institutions during the career exploration phase will unquestionably facilitate more informed decision-making and future career advancement for high school students (12).
Corresponding investigations have also been carried out by scholars regarding the associations between SS and a range of career development propositions, including CA, CE, and RCE (e.g., subject satisfaction, and course satisfaction). Certain academicians postulate that individual adaptability is positively reinforced by the perception of support from diverse sources, such as family and school (13,14). In their study, Guan et al. (15) investigated the potential ramifications of various parental practices (including absence, support, and interference) with respect to the career advancement of their children in China. Parental support promotes college students' career exploration and increases their career adaptability; interference, on the other hand, has been identified as a negative factor. Furthermore, the substantial impacts of the previously mentioned support or interference behaviors will be amplified when parental absence is minimal.
Furthermore, career construction is also somewhat influenced by objective situational factors about SS. As an illustration, Tolentino et al. (16) discovered that business students who possess a high degree of adaptability are more inclined to consider engaging in entrepreneurial endeavors. The involvement of the family in business functions as a mediating variable, indicating that the aforementioned positive effects will be more pronounced for pupils hailing from business families. In their investigation of vocational high school students, Zeng et al. (17) discovered that those who engage in regular conversations with their parents regarding their future careers exhibit greater levels of career interest, career control, career curiosity, and career confidence in comparison to those who engage in such discussions only occasionally or never. There is a positive correlation between parental support for the profession and the four dimensions of career adaptation. SS facilitated the acquisition of CA by newly employed young professionals and continued to impact their job satisfaction (18). Parental and institutional support in SS have a positive effect on the CA and CE of typical high school pupils, according to a study (19). Furthermore, they served as a substantial chain mediator in the connection between CE and subject satisfaction, exerting a greater degree of influence than any of the aforementioned individual dimensions.
Hope
According to Snyder (20), hope can be described as the "perceived capability to devise pathways to desired objectives and the drive to employ those pathways via agency thinking." Hope theory (HT) posits that hope is comprised of pathway thinking, in which individuals imagine numerous ostensibly logical routes to the accomplishment of personal value objectives. Individuals who possess elevated levels of optimism are likely to exhibit enhanced agency thinking, which fosters a sense of assurance in their capacity to attain their objectives and effectively traverse the anticipated routes that lead to those objectives. Optimism fosters a constructive outlook on the future and a proactive stance towards attaining objectives, both of which augment the career exploration behaviors and adaptability of individuals. Within the realm of career education, bolstering an individual's optimism can additionally improve career adaptability-related outcomes, including life fulfillment and vocational decisions. Multiple researchers have confirmed these assertions.
According to the findings of Sara Santilli et al. (21), hope partially mediates the relationship between CA and life satisfaction. The study conducted by Jia et al. (22) investigated Chinese vocational school students and found that hope moderates the mediating role in CA significantly. The mediating functions of connectivity and efficacy become more evident at reduced levels of hope, and there is a stronger correlation between connectivity, CA, and efficacy. The research conducted by Zeng et al. (17) on vocational high school students revealed a significant positive correlation between elevated levels of hope and enhanced CA. Furthermore, professional identity (23), career self-efficacy belief (24,25), career decision, career planning, and proactive career behavior among adolescents, university students, and working adults (24) are all career structures that are positively correlated with various measures of hope (including general context, career, and job expectations). According to the findings of Hirschi et al.'s (26) survey of high-risk adolescents in Switzerland, hope explained disparities in CE in addition to the significant influence of general self-efficacy beliefs and perceived social support.
Career Exploration for Senior High School Students
Career development theory initially proposed the notion of vocational exploration, predominantly as a phase within an individual's professional trajectory, with an emphasis on the periods of early maturity and adolescence. The principal responsibilities at this juncture encompass comprehending, elucidating, and selecting a vocation (27). Further investigations consistently enhanced and refined this notion, transcending intricate psychological facets to underscore the enduring nature of the entire exploration procedure. Throughout the process of accumulating information to advance one's career objectives, it consistently verified the assumptions that individuals held regarding the external world (28,29). Over time, vocational exploration evolved into the notion of CE that prioritizes reflection, sustainability, and lifelong learning.
In the early exploration phase of their CE phase, typical high school students must prepare not only for academic study but also for a more advanced and vocationally focused education. In contrast to general CE, their CE is expected to incorporate elements on academic readiness for tertiary education and the selection of majors, in addition to vocational components. Physical or psychological activities that ordinary high school students engage in to optimize their future college major selections are referred to as CE, according to Chen et al. (30). Exploration of oneself, potential college disciplines, and the environment are all components of this procedure. Additionally, this process encompasses the cultivation of skills including self-adjustment, self-perception, self-reflection, and self-matching. Drawing inspiration from these concepts, a career exploration questionnaire for average high school students was formulated. This questionnaire is used in the present study.
It is critical to note that the CE of high school students is notably enhanced by hope (26) and SS (19). Several studies have also discovered that the CE of high school students positively affects CA. As an illustration, a study conducted by Germeijs and Verschueren (31) revealed that adolescents who possess greater levels of CA exhibit an enhanced capacity for career decision-making and exploration when confronted with career changes and transitions. CHENG et al. (32) found that adolescents who possess elevated levels of CA are capable of effectively managing the interplay between themselves and their surroundings by engaging in ongoing exploration or personal career planning. In addition, certain outcomes in high school career education are influenced by the CE of high school students, including career decision-making (33) and satisfaction with subject selection (19).
Nevertheless, research on the reciprocal relationship between CE and CA has produced contradictory results. The Career Construction Theory posits that CA exerts a positive influence on a range of variables associated with reactive behaviors and outcomes. Moreover, CE, which is classified as an adaptive behavior, is found to be positively impacted by CA. Yet Savickas (34) contends that to cultivate these adaptive capabilities, people must continually gain a deeper understanding of their attributes and the intricacies of the professional setting via a variety of personal experiences. CE may serve as a proximal antecedent variable for individual CA, and sustained CE behavior may contribute to the development of CA (15). They discovered that high levels of parental support and low levels of parental intervention positively influenced CE and, consequently, positively predicted CA in a three-time period study involving Chinese university students.
The objective of career education is to provide opportunities for ordinary high school students, who are still in the process of learning and developing their sense of self, to participate in a range of exploratory activities that will enable them to identify potential future career paths and acquire pertinent skills to navigate the challenges they will encounter during their professional development. By engaging in self-examination, people have the opportunity to assess their interests, values, and experiences, thereby developing a comprehensive understanding of how these intrinsic qualities influence their prospective professional trajectories (28,29,35). Environmental exploration empowers individuals to make more informed career decisions through the collection of data on occupations, organizations, and careers (36,37). CE activities, which occur in the self-environment, are of paramount importance in assisting individuals in recognizing viable career advancement prospects, attaining more favorable employment circumstances, and managing the complexities and pressures associated with career transitions (38). Hence, we posit in this research that the ongoing progression of CE behavior might foster the growth of CA. Additionally, their responses to career education are positively influenced by sustained CE behavior.
Career Adaptability
The notion of CA, which is founded upon work maturity and vocational maturation, was initially proposed by Super and Knasel in 1981 (39). At present, Savickas' notion of CA enjoys broad acceptance. CA is regarded as a fundamental capability that is vital for both personal vocational growth and social interaction processes. It signifies an individual's capacity to effectively allocate the resources necessary for both present and future career transitions (40,41). Additionally, it is described as a type of "positive" social psychological capital that empowers people to frequently navigate across domains by liberating them from ingrained patterns and beliefs (42). A collaboration between 2008 and 2012 resulted in the development of operational definitions and measurement instruments for CA (43). This effort involved experts from 18 countries and regions. This international study provided evidence that the four-dimensional structure of CA was universally accepted and recognized by experts and scholars from various countries, notwithstanding cultural differences. CA is comprised of four distinct dimensions: concern, control, inquiry, and confidence.
It is foreseen that the development of CA will necessitate ongoing interaction between individuals and their surroundings. CA is influenced by both contextual and individual factors (44). CA, which reinforces adaptive behaviors and results in adaptive outcomes, functions as a type of social psychological capital that facilitates the adaptation of internal motivation and external environmental changes in the vocational development of individuals (40,41,45).
In their meta-analysis, Rudolph et al. (44) examined the associations between CA and adaptive readiness (cognitive abilities including the Big Five traits, self-esteem, core self-evaluation, proactive personality, future orientation, hope, and optimism), adaptive responses (including career planning, CE, career self-efficacy, and career decision-making self-efficacy), and adaptive outcomes (such as occupational success) across 90 studies that utilized the CA model. The findings revealed noteworthy correlations.
Reaction to Career Education
RCE denotes the responses of students to activities related to vocation education. Common high schools offer a variety of career education modalities, including group career counseling, individual career counseling, and classroom instruction. Irrespective of the format, the profound objective of these endeavors is for pupils to gain knowledge, feel comprehended, and ultimately undergo development. The Counseling Reaction Inventory was created by Hill et al. in 1988 with the purpose of quantifying responses to counseling cases (46). They identified latent clusters using multidimensional scaling, beginning with 18 positive and 18 negative reaction items. Reaction items that were infrequently used, had not been used independently or produced similar effects were eliminated and merged. This procedure produced seven negative reaction items and fourteen positive ones. While direct evidence regarding the relationship between RCE and SS, hope, CE, and CA is lacking, it is possible to deduce a positive correlation between RCE and these factors, and that RCE is influenced by these factors, based on the relationships between these four variables and other adaptive outcome variables.
Relationships among Variables
An evident correlation exists among these five variables, as indicated by the synthesis of prior research. Concurrently, it has been noted that previous scholars failed to adequately consider the interconnections between the aforementioned five variables. Frequently, the emphasis was placed on the interrelationships among two variables or the utilization of one variable as a mediating element.
Moreover, according to CCT, individuals strategize their professional trajectories in response to societal expectations concerning readiness, entry, involvement, and disconnection from different occupations (47). Subjective readiness or willingness (adaptivity), CA or social psychological resources facilitating self-adjustment (adaptability), particular stress responses or vocational behavior selections (adapting), and relative adaptive outcomes (adaptation) are the four components that comprise a stable adaptive state at each career stage. The elements above symbolize, in that order, motivation, capability, attitude/behavior, and adaptation outcomes. Individuals develop beliefs and exhibit behaviors to cope with continuously changing environmental conditions by varying degrees of willingness and allocating capabilities. Through active integration and development, they adapt to their job roles (34,43). Nevertheless, given that high school students are still in the developmental phase of career adaptability, they must establish internal psychological resources for their careers through consistent communication and interaction with themselves and their surroundings, and then achieve adaptive outcomes commensurate with this. The objective of this research is to investigate and authenticate these associations. Consequently, this study developed a multi-mediated hypothesis model connecting SS, hope, CE, CA, and RCE, under relevant theory and prior research.
Assumed in this model are:
Hypothesis 1: There is a significant positive correlation between SS, hope, CE, CA, and RCE among Chinese senior high school students.
H1a: There is a significant positive correlation between SS and hope among Chinese senior high school students.
H1b: There is a significant positive correlation between SS and CE among Chinese senior high school students.
H1c: There is a significant positive correlation between SS and CA among Chinese senior high school students.
H1d: There is a significant positive correlation between SS and RCE among Chinese senior high school students.
H1e: There is a significant positive correlation between hope and CE among Chinese senior high school students.
H1f: There is a significant positive correlation between hope and CA among Chinese senior high school students.
H1g: There is a significant positive correlation between hope and RCE among Chinese senior high school students.
H1h: There is a significant positive correlation between CE and CA among Chinese senior high school students.
H1i: There is a significant positive correlation between CE and RCE among Chinese senior high school students.
H1j: There is a significant positive correlation between CA and RCE among Chinese senior high school students.
Hypothesis 2: Hope, CE, and CA play mediating roles between SS and RCE.
H2a: Hopes plays a mediating role between SS and CE.
H2b: Hopes plays a mediating role between SS and CA.
H2c: Hopes plays a mediating role between SS and RCE.
H2d: CE plays a mediating role between SS and CA.
H2e: CE plays a mediating role between SS and RCE.
H2f: CA plays a mediating role between SS and RCE.
H2g: CE plays a mediating role between hope and CA.
H2h: CE plays a mediating role between hope and RCE.
H2i: CA plays a mediating role between hope and RCE.
H2j: CA plays a mediating role between CE and RCE.
H2k: Hope and CE play a chain mediating role between SS and CA.
H2l: Hope and CE play a chain mediating role between SS and RCE.
H2m: Hope and CA play a chain mediating role between SS and RCE.
H2n: CE and CA play a chain mediating role between SS and RCE.
H2o: CE and CA play a chain mediating role between hope and RCE.
H2p: Hope, CE and CA play a chain mediating role between SS and RCE.