Abstract
With the rapid changes in external environments, cognitive adaptability has become crucial for vocational students' personal growth and career development. However, previous research has predominantly focused on traditional single-level effects, overlooking the multilevel impacts of school climates. Hence, based on social cognitive theory and social-ecological systems theory, this study employs multilevel structural equation modeling (MSEM) to examine the effects of competitive and collaborative environments on vocational students' competitive attitude, task motivation, and cognitive adaptability at both the student level (Within) and school level (Between). This study utilizes data from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2018, analyzing a sample of 814 vocational schools and 20,978 vocational students from 18 countries and regions. Using Mplus 8.10, we applied maximum likelihood estimation with robust standard errors (MLR) to validate the multilevel structural equation model (MSEM) and examine the hierarchical effects of competitive and collaborative environments on vocational students' competitive attitude, task motivation, and cognitive adaptability. The findings indicate that both competitive attitude and task motivation positively impact cognitive adaptability at both the student and school levels. While competitive environments enhance competitive attitudes at both levels, their effects on task motivation differ, as they are positive at the student level but negative at the school level. Conversely, collaborative environments positively influence task motivation at both levels but only affect competitive attitudes at the student level. A comparison between multilevel and single-level models suggests that multilevel modeling better captures the hierarchical effects within school environments. The results highlight that moderate competition at the student level fosters motivation and adaptability, whereas highly competitive school environments may suppress motivation. In contrast, fostering a collaborative school climate enhances task motivation and cognitive adaptability. These findings underscore the importance of balancing competition and collaboration in vocational education to support students' holistic development.