Career calling and academic engagement among pre-service teachers: The roles of intention to choose teaching as a career and gender

Liju Duan, Tao Deng^*
Faculty of Education, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China
* Corresponding Author: Tao Deng. Email: email

Journal of Psychology in Africa https://doi.org/10.32604/jpa.2026.079526

Received 22 January 2026; Accepted 03 June 2026; Published online 22 July 2026

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Abstract

This study investigates the association between career calling and academic engagement of pre-service teachers, examining the mediating role of the intention to choose teaching as a career (ICTC) and the moderating role of gender. The sample comprised 20,327 pre-service teachers (26.10% male, 73.90% female), who completed measures of career calling, ICTC, and academic engagement. Results from the moderated mediation analysis revealed that higher career calling was associated with academic engagement, with ICTC mediating this relationship to be stronger. Furthermore, gender moderated both the direct path from career calling to academic engagement and the path from career calling to ICTC. Specifically, the influence of career calling on ICTC and academic engagement was stronger in male than in female pre-service teachers. These findings support the propositions of social cognitive career theory, suggesting that learning experiences (career calling) influence performance outcomes (academic engagement) via career goal choice (ICTC), with gender also playing a critical role in this process. Practical implications of these findings include a need for pre-service teacher education programs to prioritize fostering student teachers’ career calling and ICTC in gender sensitive ways which would bolster academic engagement.