magazinelogo

The Educational Review, USA

ISSN Online: 2575-7946 ISSN Print: 2575-7938 CODEN: TERUBB
Frequency: monthly Email: edu@hillpublisher.com
Total View: 7589527 Downloads: 1622567 Citations: 1047 (From Dimensions)
OpenAlex-based citation data
  • citations

    1417
  • h-index

    13
  • i10-index

    14
ArticleOpen Access http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/er.2026.08.002

Generative AI for University Students’ Career Planning: An Educational Pathway

Guohui Liu*, Xianpan Xie

School of Materials & Environmental Engineering, Shenzhen Polytechnic University, Shenzhen 518055, Guangdong, China.

*Corresponding author: Guohui Liu

Published: August 07, 2026

Abstract

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) can produce detailed career advice, yet a persuasive plan offers limited educational value when students cannot explain its assumptions or test it through experience. The pathway developed here connects career exploration, learning guidance, and labor education in Chinese higher education. It draws on research concerning AI career support and self-regulated learning, together with international educational guidance and China’s labor education framework. The pathway begins with students identifying a career question from their own experience. They then examine AI suggestions against verified occupational information, translate an unresolved question into a learning task, and complete practical work that produces evidence for revising their plans. Teachers intervene when information, student expectations, and practical feedback conflict. Assessment centers on the reasons for a choice, the quality of work evidence, and the justification for subsequent revision. An illustrative community service task shows how online guidance can inform practical activity and how experience can redirect further inquiry. The article contributes an instructional arrangement in which career planning develops through student-produced evidence. Its educational value requires evaluation through implementation, particularly regarding access to meaningful practice and the quality of student judgment.

Keyword

Career exploration; self-regulated learning; labor education; work experience; student agency

References

Bankins, S., Jooss, S., Restubog, S. L. D., Marrone, M., Ocampo, A. C., & Shoss, M. (2024). Navigating career stages in the age of artificial intelligence: A systematic interdisciplinary review and agenda for future research. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 153, 104011.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2024.104011

Chan, C. K. Y., & Hu, W. (2023). Students’ voices on generative AI: Perceptions, benefits, and challenges in higher education. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 20, 43. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-023-00411-8

Guan, R., Raković, M., Chen, G., & Gašević, D. (2025). How educational chatbots support self-regulated learning? A systematic review of the literature. Education and Information Technologies, 30(4), 4493-4518. 

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-024-12881-y

Lan, M., & Zhou, X. (2025). A qualitative systematic review on AI empowered self-regulated learning in higher education. npj Science of Learning, 10, 21.
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41539-025-00319-0

Miao, F., & Holmes, W. (2023). Guidance for generative AI in education and research. UNESCO. 

https://doi.org/10.54675/EWZM9535

Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China. (2020). Guidelines for labor education in primary, secondary, and higher education institutions (trial) [In Chinese].
https://www.moe.gov.cn/srcsite/A26/jcj_kcjcgh/202007/t20200715_472808.html

Sarmurzin, Y., Azhenov, A., Kudysheva, A., Ualikhanova, B., Saparbekova, I., & Besbayev, A. (2026). Implementation of AI in career counselling for university students: A systematic review. Frontiers in Education, 11, 1787689. 

https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2026.1787689

Yang, W., Xie, Y., & Wu, X. (2026). Can AI be a good counselor? Comparing the effectiveness of AI and human career counseling. Technology in Society, 86, 103301.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2026.103301

Copyright

© 2026 by the author(s).
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (CC BY-NC-ND) license, which permits non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not modified or adapted.
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

How to cite this paper

Generative AI for University Students’ Career Planning: An Educational Pathway

How to cite this paper: Guohui Liu, Xianpan Xie. (2026). Generative AI for University Students’ Career Planning: An Educational Pathway. The Educational Review, USA, 10(8), 431-435.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/er.2026.08.002