Understanding academic burnout in ethnic minority vocational students: a mixed-methods examination of career indecision, irrational beliefs, and academic self-efficacy.

INTRODUCTION: Academic burnout represents an important concern among ethnic minority secondary vocational students, who may encounter distinctive challenges in career development and academic adaptation. However, the psychological processes linking career indecision to academic burnout remain insufficiently understood in this population. Guided by ABC theory and self-efficacy theory, this study examined the relationships among career indecision, irrational beliefs, academic self-efficacy, and academic burnout and explored how students' experiences contextualized these relationships. METHODS: A sequential explanatory mixed-methods design was employed. Quantitative data were collected from 398 ethnic minority secondary vocational students in China and analyzed using structural equation modeling and bootstrap analyses. Subsequently, ten students were selected for semi-structured interviews, and the interview data were analyzed using thematic analysis. RESULTS: Career indecision was positively associated with irrational beliefs (β = 0.32, p < 0.001) and negatively associated with academic self-efficacy (β = -0.39, p < 0.001). Significant indirect effects were identified through both the career indecision-irrational beliefs-academic burnout pathway and the career indecision-academic self-efficacy-academic burnout pathway. However, the hypothesized sequential indirect pathway involving both irrational beliefs and academic self-efficacy was not supported. The qualitative findings revealed fragmented career aspirations, uncertainty about future planning, and experiences of academic burnout associated with perceived major mismatch. Students also described limited access to career information, educational support, and opportunities for occupational exploration. These accounts helped contextualize how irrational beliefs and reduced academic self-efficacy could accompany career indecision and academic burnout. DISCUSSION: The findings suggest that career indecision was associated with academic burnout through two distinct psychological pathways involving irrational beliefs and academic self-efficacy, rather than through the proposed sequential process. By integrating statistical relationships with students' contextual experiences, this study extends understanding of academic burnout among an understudied vocational student population. The findings also indicate the potential value of strengthening career guidance, occupational exploration, and academic support for ethnic minority secondary vocational students.