Development and Validation of Career Choice Competence Scale for High School Students in China

There is currently a lack of validated, culturally embedded measures to assess the career choice competencies that Chinese high school students require for subject and major selection under the New Gaokao system. This study adopted a sequential mixed-methods design to develop and validate such a scale. In Study 1 (n = 40), semi-structured interviews were carried out and analyzed, resulting in a preliminary six-dimensional conceptualization of career choice competence. In Study 2 (n = 265), item analysis and Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) produced a 24-item scale with a seven-factor structure. In Study 3 (n = 555 for validation; n = 421 for reliability and validity analyses), Covariance Structure Modeling (CSM) confirmed a 24-item final scale with a six-factor structure, comprising self-cognition, learning efficacy, environmental exploration, outcome expectations, self-reflection, and action-taking. Learning efficacy is retained, while Decision-making participation and action-taking are combined into a single dimension: action-taking. As the first study to systematically delineate the psychological meaning and structural dimensions of career choice competence in this population, this study provides a promising assessment tool and offers new perspectives for understanding students' competence development and advancing career education in China.