The Relationship between Bicultural Identity Integration, Self-Esteem, Academic Resilience, Interaction Anxiousness, and School Belonging among University Students with Vocational Qualifications

Abstract

Background: University students with a vocational pathway face greater cultural, psychological, cognitive, and behavioral challenges during the transition process than their counterparts with an academic route. Method: This study examined the predictive effect of bicultural identity integration, self-esteem, academic resilience, and interaction anxiousness on school belonging using a quantitative approach with 326 Chinese vocational pathway university student participants. Result: The participants had high levels of cultural adaptability, self-esteem, academic resilience, and school belonging, but they also displayed moderate interaction anxiousness. Bicultural identity integration (B = 0.24; p < 0.001), self-esteem (B = 0.35; p < 0.001), and academic resilience (B = 0.25; p < 0.001) significantly positively predicted school belonging, while interaction anxiousness (B = −0.17; p < 0.01) negatively predicted school belonging. Conclusions: Bicultural identity integration, self-esteem, academic resilience, and interaction anxiousness were crucial determinants of school belonging among Chinese university students with vocational qualifications. Effective measures should be initiated to boost their feelings of being recognized, respected, and connected to the university community.

Effects of Cultural Intelligence and Imposter Syndrome on School Belonging through Academic Resilience among University Students with Vocational Backgrounds

“…Therefore, the fourth hypothesis emerged from this research that CI had a positive and significant effect on SB through AR. This result further confirms the transition theory and SB research that students with high CI have better AR and stronger SB [40,79]. Noteworthily, both direct and indirect effects of CI on SB were significant, indicating that AR functioned as a partial mediator.…”

“…With is in mind, following the suggestions that future research on SB should focus on the specifically marginalized populations using a quantitative approach [10], this study aimed to examine the predictive effects of CI, IS, and AR on SB among Chinese university students with a vocational pathway. This study is a further step to our previous work investigating the linear impact of bicultural identity integration, self-esteem, AR, and interaction anxiousness on SB of VET pathway university students in China [40]. In the present study, we synthesized the SB research and AR theory and designed a parallel mediation model to assess the mechanism of the interplay among variables observed.…”

“…This result is also evident from the descriptive analysis that IS had a weak link to SB. Based on their responses to the questionnaire, although students are somewhat self-doubting about their competencies and self-abasing in comparison with their academic pathway counterparties, they were thoroughly satisfied with and proud of their successful progression to a high-ranking university as a stereotyped vocational student [81] with a strong feeling of membership [40]. Therefore, IS did not show a significant influence on SB.…”

“…In addition, several studies have highlighted that AR is a positive predictor of SB [38,39]. Students with a high level of AR have a stronger sense of belonging to their universities [40], while those who have difficulties handling academic setbacks are less likely to form an appropriate sense of SB [41,42].…”

“…Additionally, since SB is a growing domain at the collegiate level and is much more diverse and complex at the individual characteristic level, VET pathway university students may differ in the experience of SB compared to their peers with an academic route. Due to the significant distinctions in curriculums and examinations between education sectors [43], students upgrading to university from the VET sector are more likely to encounter the cultural, academic, and psychological shock, which catalyzes the feelings of self-worthless and isolation from the university community and further impacts their transition success [37,40]. Thereby, there is great significance in exploring the effects of CI, IS, and AR on SB among VET pathway university students.…”