Examining the Mediating Role of Self-Efficacy in the Relationship Between Vocational Guidance and Career Commitment Among Polytechnic Students in Osun State

Career commitment is a theoretically significant outcome of vocational guidance, yet the psychological mechanisms through which guidance influences commitment remain insufficiently specified in the Nigerian polytechnic context. This study examined the mediating role of self-efficacy in the relationship between vocational guidance and career commitment among polytechnic students in Osun State, South West Nigeria. A cross-sectional survey design was used, with 350 students selected from two polytechnics in Osogbo and Ile-Ife. The Vocational Guidance Experience Scale, the Occupational Self-Efficacy Scale, and the Career Commitment Scale were administered. Mediation analysis using the PROCESS macro was conducted. Findings confirmed a significant positive relationship between vocational guidance experience and career commitment. Self-efficacy fully mediated this relationship, indicating that vocational guidance increased career commitment primarily by strengthening students' confidence in their ability to perform successfully in their chosen field. Partial direct effects of guidance remained significant after accounting for self-efficacy, suggesting additional unexplained mediating pathways. Gender moderated self-efficacy levels but not the mediation pathway. The study extends career self-efficacy theory to the Nigerian polytechnic context and provides a mechanism-based rationale for designing guidance programmes that explicitly target self-efficacy alongside information delivery. Keywords: vocational guidance, self-efficacy, career commitment, polytechnic, Osun State.