The Association between University Students’ Achievement Goal Orientation and Academic Engagement: Examining the Mediating Role of Perceived School Climate and Academic Self-Efficacy

Yaqi Zhang, Xiangli Guan, Md Zahir Ahmed, Mary C. Jobe and Oli Ahmed
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Yaqi Zhang: School of Education, Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou 730070, China
Xiangli Guan: School of Teacher Education, Yuxi Normal University, Yuxi 653100, China
Md Zahir Ahmed: School of Psychology, Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou 730070, China
Mary C. Jobe: Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA
Oli Ahmed: Department of Psychology, University of Chittagong, Chattogram 4331, Bangladesh

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 10, 1-13

Abstract: Enhancing academic engagement in university students can help enrich students’ educational experience. Drawing on the Conservation of Resources Model and the Job Demand-Resources Model, this study aims to explore the links between undergraduates’ achievement goal orientation and academic engagement (AE), by examining the mediating functions of perceived school climate (PSC) and academic self-efficacy (ASE). Using whole-group sampling, 571 Chinese undergraduates were selected using a self-reporting method to explore the impacts of mastery-approach goals (MAGs) and performance-avoidance goals (PAGs) on AE, as well as the chain mediating effects of PSC and ASE. The findings show that both MAGs and PAGs have a positive, direct, predictive effect on university students’ AE. Additionally, both goal orientations indirectly predict AE through PSC and ASE, separately. The results showed there was also a significant chain mediating effect of PSC and ASE, where for both goal orientations, AE was positively predicted. This study highlights the role of environmental as well as personal factors in facilitating self-regulated learning among university students, and it discusses implications for future research.

Keywords: achievement goal orientation; perceived school climate; academic self-efficacy; academic engagement (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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