{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,30]],"date-time":"2026-07-30T16:57:58Z","timestamp":1785430678714,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":28,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,28]],"date-time":"2026-07-28T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1785196800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["72104030"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["72104030"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"award":["72104030"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["72104030"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/01h0zpd94","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Guangzhou Institute of Technology Research Start-up Fund","award":["2025KYQ025"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2025KYQ025"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Behav. Sci.","Behavioral Sciences"],"abstract":"<jats:p>School belonging is an important indicator of students\u2019 school adjustment and psychological well-being, yet it may be particularly vulnerable among students in Chinese secondary vocational education because of early academic tracking and weak vocational identity. This three-wave longitudinal study examined whether perceived teacher support was associated with later school belonging through self-efficacy and learning engagement. Data were collected from first-year secondary vocational students in China. The baseline valid sample included 9116 students, and 1273 students were retained at Time 3, indicating substantial attrition across waves. Structural equation modeling was used to test the serial mediation model, controlling for baseline self-efficacy, learning engagement, and school belonging. The results showed that perceived teacher support at Time 1 was positively associated with self-efficacy at Time 2, which was associated with learning engagement at Time 2. Learning engagement was positively associated with school belonging at Time 3. The direct association between perceived teacher support and school belonging was also significant but modest, and the serial indirect association through self-efficacy and learning engagement was statistically significant but small in magnitude. These findings contribute to the literature by showing that vocational students\u2019 school belonging is linked not only to perceived teacher\u2013student support, but also to a gradual psychological\u2013behavioral process involving competence beliefs and learning participation.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/bs16081288","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,28]],"date-time":"2026-07-28T11:45:26Z","timestamp":1785239126000},"page":"1288","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Psychological and Behavioral Pathways from Perceived Teacher Support to School Belonging Among Vocational Students: A Three-Wave Longitudinal Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0004-0775-4662","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jiliang","family":"Liu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Humanities and Education, Guangzhou Institute of Science and Technology, Guangzhou 510540, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yunbo","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Education, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Wenli","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Human Resources Department, Xiamen Institute of Technology, Xiamen 361021, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,28]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2526459","DOI":"10.1080\/02673843.2025.2526459","article-title":"The role of perceived teacher, peer, and parental support in school belonging among vocational high school students","volume":"30","author":"Adinata","year":"2025","journal-title":"International Journal of Adolescence and Youth"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1007\/s10648-016-9389-8","article-title":"What schools need to know about fostering school belonging: A meta-analysis","volume":"30","author":"Allen","year":"2018","journal-title":"Educational Psychology Review"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"149","DOI":"10.1007\/s12310-023-09626-6","article-title":"Adolescent school belonging and mental health outcomes in young adulthood: Findings from a multi-wave prospective cohort study","volume":"16","author":"Allen","year":"2024","journal-title":"School Mental Health"},{"key":"ref_4","unstructured":"Cohen, J. 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