1. Introduction
School belonging (SB) of university students has garnered considerable attention from policymakers, scholars, educators, and parents, along with the increasing diversity and openness of the higher education system worldwide in recent years [
1,
2,
3,
4]. Goodenow and Grady [
5] conceptualized SB as “the extent to which they feel personally accepted, respected, included, and supported in the school social environment.” As an emotional and psychological construct, university students’ sense of SB reflects their positive attachment to the collegiate community and their culturally and academically transitional adaptation to a new surrounding [
6,
7,
8]. Scholars have identified crucial predictors of SB in university settings that can be categorized into positive and negative facets [
9,
10]. Regarding the positive factors, the culturally relevant antecedents (e.g., cultural intelligence, CI) have been significantly linked to enhancing the sense of SB among the university population [
11,
12]. Moreover, the academically relevant determinants (e.g., academic resilience, AR) have also been associated with increasing university students’ SB [
13,
14]. Concerning the negative factors, students’ feelings of inadequacy or fraudulence (e.g., imposter syndrome, IS) manifesting as a sense that they successfully entered a university as a result of luck instead of their abilities have been related to decreasing their sense of SB [
15].
CI refers to an individual’s capacity to perform effectively in culturally diverse settings [
16,
17]. CI is a widely accepted term that is well documented in academic research in the education system, linked to students’ emotional intelligence and intelligence quotient [
18]. CI can help students adapt to unfamiliar contexts and blend in confidently [
19]. Previous studies have shown that students with high CI are more effective at feeling supported by and connected to their institutions [
20,
21].
IS refers to individuals’ belief that their achievements are due to dumb luck or even error, persisting that they are not as intelligent or competent as others impress, despite abundant evidence to the contrary [
22,
23]. People suffering from IS are characterized by perfectionism, self-doubt, attributing their successes to external factors [
24,
25], and lack of confidence and belongingness [
26,
27]. The imposter phenomenon is also prevalent in higher education, especially for undergraduates and postgraduates [
23,
28]. Chapman [
15] argued that students who can effectively overcome IS usually gain a great sense of SB by developing a new student identity.
AR refers to students’ ability to accomplish favorable learning outcomes despite a disadvantaged situation [
29]. Some theoretical and empirical studies on predictors and outcomes of AR have confirmed that CI, IS, and SB are closely related to AR. According to the structural model of resilience [
30], the factors affecting AR can be classified as protective and risk factors [
31,
32]. The protective factors fostering AR include intelligence and adaptation [
33], while the risk factors weakening academic performance involve self-misrecognition of their worth [
34]. For instance, extant research has revealed that the transition experience is a complexly cultural change that determines students’ academic performance [
35] and is positively associated with AR for first-year students at higher education institutions [
36]. In contrast, students who internalize themselves as inferior and inadequate with a high level of IS are prone to be less resilient when facing academic difficulties [
37]. 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].
These existing studies have deepened our understanding of university students’ sense of SB and its antecedents in the transitional process. However, these representative determinants contributing to SB have not yet been integrated into a comprehensive model that can determine positive and negative factors. Specifically, little is known about the relationships between CI, IS, AR, and SB. 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.
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 effort will add value to the theoretical and empirical literature on SB constructs and the AR model by evaluating the effects of CI and IS on SB through AR in a sample of Chinese university students with a vocational background. The following hypotheses were assumed:
Hypothesis 1 (H1). CI positively predicts SB.
Hypothesis 2 (H2). CI positively predicts AR.
Hypothesis 3 (H3). AR positively predicts SB.
Hypothesis 4 (H4). CI positively predicts SB through AR.
Hypothesis 5 (H5). IS negatively predicts SB.
Hypothesis 6 (H6). IS negatively predicts AR.
Hypothesis 7 (H7). IS negatively predicts SB through AR.
The hypothesized mediation model is presented in
Figure 1.
4. Discussion
This study sought to determine the effects of CI and IS on SB through AR among Chinese VET pathway university students. Participants’ overall means were over the midpoint of the scales, manifesting that they can make good use of intelligence to adapt to the cultural differences between university and vocational settings, effectively deal with difficulties and frustrations in professional learning, and feel supported and affirmed by the university. However, they also moderately struggled with the feeling of IS. This result coincides with previous studies wherein university students with vocational backgrounds generate self-misrecognition of their worth in higher education and their subject units relative to their peers with academic pathways [
34]. This result may be due to the challenges of transitioning between different types of education proposed by Schlossberg [
70] and Barber and Netherton [
71]. Furthermore, structural equation modeling provided empirical support for our hypotheses of the intrinsic association between the participants’ CI, IS, AR, and SB. The importance-performance map analysis also identified the variables that had the most significant impact on SB and that should be shown more attention. The specific interrelationship between the four observed variables is elaborated in the following subsections.
4.1. The Relationship between CI, AR and SB
The results confirmed that CI had the most significant influence on SB among Chinese VET pathway university students. The first hypothesis test showed that CI positively and significantly affected students’ sense of SB. Thus, improving sensitivity and ability to cope with cultural affairs will promote students’ feelings of belonging to the university. This deduction is supported by Du’s finding [
3] that vocational education students’ sense of SB can be cultivated from a cultural perspective. This result is also consistent with the conclusion by Ang and Dyne [
12] that CI is strongly associated with SB. CI reflects an individual’s capability to cope with diversely cultural situations [
16]. People who adapt to diverse cultural circumstances are more likely to shape a sense of belonging to new environments [
12]. Therefore, the higher students’ CI was, the stronger their sense of SB was.
The second hypothesis was verified by the positive and significant effect of CI on AR. This result provides empirical evidence for previous theoretical arguments. According to the transition theory assumed by Schlossberg [
72], when stepping into new learning surrounding, students are prone to encounter transition shock, including cultural shock [
73] and learning shock [
74]. When exposed to an unfamiliar and culturally diverse environment, individuals may feel stressed and frustrated in achieving life and academic success that requires psychological resilience to engagement [
75]. Thus, CI, as a complementary type of intelligence that interprets adaptability to variety and cross-cultural communications [
17], can facilitate an individual’s academic performance in tackling learning difficulties. This result is also akin to the empirical findings that demonstrated a positive correlation between CI and AR [
76,
77]. For instance, Jurásek et al. [
78] found that the CI of university students indirectly affects AR through their adaptability. Grounded on these findings, it can be asserted that CI is a pivotal predictor of AR and should be considered when committing to investigating the inner AR levels among Chinese university students from vocational education.
The third hypothesis was also supported since the results disclosed that AR positively and significantly predicted SB, indicating that the higher students’ AR was, the stronger their feelings of SB became. This result aligns with the finding that AR was predictive of students’ SB [
10,
38]. As mentioned above, resilient students who regard learning differences and academic challenges as positive stimulus are more inclined to feel supported and have a sense of belonging to the institution [
20,
21]. Conversely, those who suffer difficulties in familiarizing themselves with university pedagogy and learning patterns struggle to achieve academic success and feel disconnected from their university community [
42].
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. Thus, there may be other contributors that were not considered in this study.
Moreover, the importance-performance map analysis results illustrated that CI and AR are the areas where improvement activities should be maintained to enhance their performance.
4.2. The Relationship between IS, AR and SB
In this study, IS was found to affect students’ SB, which was insignificant negatively. Therefore, Hypothesis 5 was not supported. This result contradicts the findings of Rackley [
80], who advocated that impostorism negatively impacted students’ well-being and sense of belonging at college. 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.
For Hypothesis 6, IS was found to negatively and significantly affect AR. According to the resilience theory, the risk factors such as pessimism and diffidence contribute to high cognitive impairment and low academic performance. The strength of IS can lead to the decline of AR [
82]. Due to the considerable distinctions in pedagogy and teaching methods between vocational and academic education systems, university students with vocational backgrounds who internalized their inferiority were less flexible and buoyant in overcoming academic challenges. This result is similar to the findings of Thompson et al. [
83] that undergraduates’ IS restricted the opportunity to achieve high academic performance and lowered their self-congratulation and self-esteem. This result is also likened to the findings of Walker [
84], who demonstrated a significant negative relationship between the impostor phenomenon and academic self-efficacy, which was associated with, and a significant determinant of, AR [
85]. Therefore, IS is a critical predictor of AR among Chinese university students shifting from vocational education.
Notably, despite the insignificant direct effect of IS on SB, the indirect impact of IS on SB through AR was significant, indicating that Hypothesis 7 was supported. In this study, AR completely mediated the association between IS and SB among vocational route university students. The overlapping of students’ high IS and low AR can prominently impede the growth of their sense of SB [
86]. This result expands the previous literature on how IS influences students’ SB by highlighting the importance of AR in their transition process.
Moreover, according to the outcome of the importance-performance map analysis, IS is in the lower left area. As Ringle and Sarstedt [
66], constructs in the third quadrant (below average importance and performance) are given the third priority. Thereby, although IS had the least importance and slightest effect on SB compared with CI and AR, given that it can negatively and significantly predict SB through AR, more improvement should be implemented to diminish students’ self-misrecognition to help them navigate the learning friction, and subsequently, to enhance their feelings of SB.
4.3. Implication
The results indicated that CI positively and significantly predicted SB both directly and indirectly through AR. The findings from the importance-performance map analysis also revealed that CI had the highest importance and performance in this posited model. Accordingly, keeping up the excellence of CI should be treated as the most essential work. In this regard, some measures should be considered to increase students’ sense of SB by accelerating their ability to perform effectively in diversely cultural contexts. Universities should provide more instruction and opportunities to help students adapt to the new community and develop their CI, including multidisciplinary curricular modules, cross-cultural school activities, and transitional experience sharing. Individually, students should engage in compulsory and optional cultural development events more proactively to build a close connection with the new environment and boost their sense of SB.
In addition, AR was also found to act as a mediator in the relationship between IS and SB. With its location in the first quadrant and higher prioritization in the importance-performance map, AR should also be viewed as a vital element. In this vein, universities and educators should offer more academic support to promote students’ academic performance and heighten their feelings of SB by reducing course load, improving teaching methods, facilitating academic training, and putting appropriate academic stress on their professional learning [
87]. Individually, students should actively transfer the way of thinking and learning from practice-oriented to cognition-oriented, take an easy-to-difficult learning strategy [
88], and bravely face the learning challenge to develop their AR.
Noteworthily, although IS only negatively and significantly affected SB through AR and was of the lowest priority among the three variables, IS was somewhat prevalent in this cohort of university students with vocational pathways. Therefore, more effective interventions focused on students’ beliefs about their ability should be initiated to lessen their self-underestimated syndrome to improve their AR and thus their sense of SB. Specifically, educators and parents should encourage students to recognize their worth, build confidence in their success, and regard transition based on their values and beliefs. University students with vocational qualifications should also be aware of the importance of transition experiences, understand themselves comprehensively and objectively in the changing environment, and adjust their mentality further to overcome the complex impact of two types of education.
6. Conclusions
By integrating the transition, SB, and AR theory, this research deepened our previous study to explore the mediating role of AR in the relationship between CI and SB and between IS and SB. The results revealed that VET route university students have relatively high levels of CI, AR, and SB. Meanwhile, they are also fraudulent and self-doubting when valuing their successful transition. The results also indicated that CI positively and significantly predicts AR and SB, while IS has a negatively and significantly predictive effect only on AR, but not SB. AR partly mediated the impact of CI on SB and completely mediated the effect of IS on SB. The importance-performance map analysis also identifies that CI is the most vital predictor of SB, followed by AR and IS. These empirical results expand our understanding of how positive and negative factors influence students’ mental health and well-being in transitioning from a vocational education sector to a university. This study also provides valuable insights into how to accelerate the VET pathway university students’ CI and AR, alleviate their feelings of IS, and ultimately reinforce their sense of SB by designing cross-cultural curricula and activities, developing their adaptability to new circumstances, facilitating their resilience in professional learning and academic training, enhancing their sense of self-fulfillment, and intervening early in the period of vocational education. This study could be further improved and generalized by broadening the sample diversity and including the control variables.