The influence of motivation, self-efficacy, and fear of failure on the career adaptability of vocational school students: Moderated by meaning in life

Abstract

It is an important issue for vocational school students to have good adaptability for their future life. This study combines career construction theory and self-determination theory to construct a model to explore the relationship between the “motivation,” “self-efficacy,” “fear of failure,” “career adaptability,” and “meaning in life” of vocational school students. This study used a secondary data research method and retrieved a total of 2,377 data from vocational school students in Taiwan from the perspective of data exploration using PISA 2018 data, which was validated by the partial least squares structural equation model (PLS-SEM). The following results were obtained: (1) Vocational students were afraid that failure would have a negative impact on their career adaptability. (2) Motivation and Self-efficacy had a positive effect on career adaptability. (3) Motivation positively affected fear of failure. (4) Self-efficacy negatively affected fear of failure. (5) Meaning in life could positively moderate the effect of self-efficacy on fear of failure. (6) However, there was no statistical difference in the moderating effect of meaning in life on the relationship between motivation and fear of failure. First, fear of failure negatively affected career adaptability, while motivation and self-efficacy positively affected career adaptability; compared to the three effects, the negative effect of fear of failure may not be as great as expected. Second, motivation is like a double-edged sword as it improves adaptability, but it also comes with an increased fear of failure. On the contrary, self-efficacy can simultaneously improve the career adaptability of vocational students and reduce their fear of failure. Therefore, the development of self-efficacy should be given priority over motivation in the career adaptability enhancement strategy of vocational students. Finally, the meaning of life can positively moderate the negative influence of self-efficacy on the fear of failure. In other words, for vocational students with a low sense of self-efficacy, perhaps life education can be used instead as a strategy to reduce their fear of failure.

Mediating Effect of Motivation on the Relationship of Fear of Failure and Learning Outcome of Grade 8 Students in Chemistry

“…The above finding is supported by Chuang et al (2022) that described fear of failure as the inclination to assess problems in an assessment context when failure is imminent. Likewise, Deneault's et al (2020) study emphasized that students' high fear of failure is deeply rooted in their early childhood with their experiences with their family members, especially with their parents and then with other important people.…”

“…Students with high fear of failure consequently can also affect their motivation as they learn Chemistry. Chuang et al (2022) agreed on this finding, citing motivation as being affected by the indicators of fear of failure. As previously stated, the higher the fear of failure of the students, the greater their motivation.…”

Self-efficacy and Career Adaptability in Early Career employees

“…Besides that, self-efficacy in the context of career development is an individual's belief in his ability to carry out tasks to achieve goals related to his career. Self-efficacy can simultaneously increase an individual's career adaptability to better adapt to career changes and challenges (Chuang et al, 2022). Career adaptability and self-efficacy help navigate an individual's career effectively to achieve long-term success, so these two topics are essential for career development because they are related and interdependent.…”

Investigating Student's Level of Self-Efficacy in Speaking Performance of Thai Efl Learners

“…Similarly, Heriansyah (2012) According to Bandura, self-efficacy is the belief one has in one's ability to succeed in a specific undertaking (Artino, 2012;Zhang, 2018). Research suggests that while fear of failure can impede one's efforts in school and at work, self-efficacy can help (Chuang et al, 2022). The relationship between self-efficacy and the fear of making mistakes-especially in education and language learning-has been the subject of extensive research.…”

“…The relationship between self-efficacy and the fear of making mistakes-especially in education and language learning-has been the subject of extensive research. According to these research, self-efficacy might help people overcome challenges and their fear of failing by establishing a connection between academic success and self-esteem (Chuang et al, 2022).…”