Vocational college students' vocational identity and self-esteem: Dynamics obtained from latent change score modeling

Abstract

<p>Promoting students' vocational identity construction is an important aim of vocational education. Based on the self-system theory, this longitudinal study aimed at understanding how self-esteem was related to pre-service preschool teachers' vocational identity development. In addition, based on the self-construal tripartite model, three types of self-esteem (i.e., personal, relational, and collective self-esteem) were investigated. A two-wave longitudinal study with a six-month interval was conducted among 539 Chinese vocational college students majoring in early childhood education. Results of bivariate latent change score models indicated that the initial levels of the in-breadth career exploration sub-dimension were significantly positive, but weak, predictors of changes in personal self-esteem; the initial levels of career commitment making were significantly negative, but weak, predictors of changes in personal self-esteem. Positive gain cycles were shown between relational selfesteem and identification with career commitment and between collective self-esteem and identification with career commitment. The initial levels of collective self-esteem were significantly positive, but weak, predictors of changes in in-depth career exploration Practical implications regarding vocational college students' vocational identity and self-esteem development are discussed.</p>