Examining the relationship between self-efficacy, career development, and subjective wellbeing in physical education students.

We investigated the relationship between self-efficacy and career development via subjective well-being of students majoring in physical education. Life satisfaction, positive affect, and negative affect were the componennts of subjective well-being. Participants were the 1381 adolescents with major in physical education with an age range of 18-22 years (Mage = 19.5 ± 1; females = 34.76%). Hayes PROCESS model was used to develop a multiple mediation model. The results suggest that higher self-efficacy leads to better career development. Further, a significant mediating role was played by negative and positive affect in case of the relationship between self-efficacy and career exploration, but life-satisfaction is not significant mediator. Conversely, life satisfaction and positive affect are significant mediators between self-efficacy and career adaptability but negative affect is not. The findings suggest that self-efficacy and subjective well-being benefit career development of adolescents in the physical education field.

Moderated Mediation Model for the Association of Educational Identity and Career Identity Development of Physical Education Students.

Introduction: Education and vocation are crucial to one's identity. The current study aimed to see the association between educational identity and career identity development among Chinese PE students. The mediating effect of self-efficacy on educational identity and career identity was explored. Further, the study intended to see the moderating role of gender for the mediating effect of self-efficacy between educational identity and career identity development. Methods: A total of 369 (age range= 16-22) Chinese PE students were recruited as participants in the study. There were 180 (48.8%) males and 189 (51.2%) females in the sample. Hayes process model 58 was applied to develop a moderated mediation model. Results: The results reported that there was a significant positive association between educational identity with self-efficacy and career identity. However, self-efficacy was not related to career identity. Further, self-efficacy did not play a mediating role between educational identity and career identity development. On the other hand, gender significantly moderated the mediating effect of self-efficacy between educational identity and career identity development. Discussion: The study suggests that individuals who have a strong sense of educational identity are more likely to possess higher levels of self-efficacy and a clearer understanding of their career goals. However, it is notable that self-efficacy did not directly impact career identity, suggesting the presence of other factors influencing this aspect of identity formation. Interestingly, moderating role of gender suggests that the influence of self-efficacy on career identity development may vary depending on one's gender, highlighting the importance of considering gender-specific factors in career-related interventions and counseling programs. The practical and theoretical implications of the study are discussed. Implications: The practical implications of this study suggest the importance of educational identity, the need for comprehensive career counseling interventions, and the consideration of gender-specific factors. The theoretical implications contribute to identity development theory, mediation and moderation frameworks, and cross-cultural research on career identity.