The Mediating Effect of Positive Psychological Capital in the Relationship between Protean Career Attitudes and Employability among Special Education Undergraduate Students

The purpose of this study is to empirically investigate the mediating effect of positive psychological capital in the relationship between protean career attitude and employability among undergraduate students majoring in special education. To achieve this, data were collected from 311 undergraduates enrolled in special education departments at colleges of education nationwide. Descriptive statistics, correlation, and reliability analyses were conducted using SPSS 25.0. Additionally, direct and indirect effects among variables were tested using model 4 of PROCESS macro 4.0, and bootstrapping was performed to verify the statistical significance of the mediating effect. The analysis results are as follows: First, the level of awareness regarding protean career attitude among special education majors was high, with self-directedness being the highest. Employability was above the median, while resilience, a component of positive psychological capital, was found to be the lowest. Second, positive psychological capital mediates the relationship between protean career attitude and employability. Based on the results of this study, implications for research and practice were suggested.