Sustainability-oriented teaching in vocational higher education: how intrinsic motivation, programme relevance and learning commitment shape students' social value outcomes

Purpose This study examines whether and how sustainability-oriented teaching in vocational and applied higher education shapes students' social value-added outcomes. Drawing on self-determination theory and engagement perspectives, we test intrinsic motivation, perceived programme relevance and commitment to learning as explanatory mechanisms. Design/methodology/approach A cross-sectional survey of students (N = 423) in a Chinese vocational and applied higher education institution was analysed using hierarchical PLS-SEM (two-stage approach; 5,000 bootstrap resamples). Findings Sustainability-oriented teaching positively relates to intrinsic motivation, programme relevance and commitment to learning. Social value-added outcomes are mainly predicted by intrinsic motivation and, more modestly, by commitment to learning. The indirect effect via programme relevance is not significant. Dominance analysis shows that intrinsic motivation accounts for most explained variance in social value-added outcomes. Research limitations/implications The study is based on cross-sectional self-report data from one institution. Longitudinal, multi-source and multi-institutional research is needed. Practical implications The strongest lever is motivational internalisation. Programmes should use autonomy-supportive, practice-based sustainability tasks, visible assessment criteria and structured feedback. Originality/value The study positions sustainability-oriented teaching as a mechanism of responsible employability development in vocational higher education and shows that motivational internalisation matters more than relevance signalling.