Designing a Psychological Education Model for Students to Cope with Ambiguity, Academic Failure, and Future Career Pressures
Keywords:
Psychological education, ambiguity, academic failure, career pressure, students, thematic analysis, TehranAbstract
This study aimed to design a psychological education model for students to cope effectively with ambiguity, academic failure, and future career pressures. This qualitative study was conducted using thematic analysis. The participants included 24 high school students, school counselors, and teachers from Tehran, Iran. They were selected through purposive sampling with maximum variation in gender, grade level, school type, and experience of academic and career-related pressures. Data were collected exclusively through semi-structured interviews, and sampling continued until theoretical saturation was achieved. All interviews were audio-recorded with informed consent, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using NVivo software. Data analysis involved familiarization with the transcripts, initial coding, development of subcategories, extraction of main categories, theme review, and final naming of categories. To enhance trustworthiness, member checking, peer review, audit trail documentation, and constant comparison were applied. The analysis resulted in five main categories: “redefining ambiguity as a learning opportunity,” “reconstructing the meaning of academic failure,” “emotional and cognitive self-regulation under pressure,” “academic-career agency and flexible future orientation,” and “supportive school-family ecosystem.” The findings indicated that students facing ambiguity, failure, and future career concerns require more than informational guidance. They need a multidimensional psychological education model that integrates cognitive, emotional, motivational, relational, and future-oriented competencies. Participants emphasized that uncertainty becomes less threatening when students learn to interpret it, discuss it safely, and transform it into planning, exploration, and adaptive action. The proposed model suggests that psychological education should move beyond crisis-based interventions and become a stable component of school education. By strengthening ambiguity tolerance, failure literacy, self-regulation, career adaptability, and supportive relationships, schools can prepare students to navigate academic setbacks and uncertain future career transitions with greater resilience and agency.
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