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Conceptualisation, measurement, and prediction of foreign language learning psychological capital among Chinese EFL students
Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development
Abstract
Psychological capital (PsyCap), the resource that responds to developing an individual’s positive psychological capacities, is positively related to academic behaviours, achievement emotions, and academic resource. However, the domain-specificity of the PsyCap scale and the prediction of PsyCap resources have not been examined in an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context, especially in China. This study aims to conceptualise EFL PsyCap, develops its corresponding measurement, and explore how EFL PsyCap resources were associated with EFL-related achievement emotions, academic engagement, and EFL performance. Item-level analyses, internal consistency analyses, and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to assess the reliability and validity of the EFL PsyCap scale in a sample of 1,396 Chinese EFL learners. Furthermore, structural equation modelling analyses were conducted to examine the relationship between EFL PsyCap resources, achievement emotions, academic engagement, and EFL performance after controlling for gender and age. Results showed that the 16-item EFL PsyCap scale retains excellent psychometric properties and EFL PsyCap is a hierarchical construct underpinned by its four first-order components of optimism, hope, resilience, and self-efficacy. Additionally, EFL PsyCap resources positively predicted academic enjoyment, behavioural engagement, and EFL performance and negatively predicted academic boredom and anxiety.
... Another teacher-related factor is positive psychological capital (PPC), which is essential in challenging contexts like L2 education (Mercer, 2020). PPC refers to various mental resources that an individual uses to develop personally and professionally in a dynamic way (Luthans et al., 2007;Wu & Kang, 2023). Research shows that PPC enhances teachers' professional development status, identity, and effectiveness (Allameh et al., 2018;Wang & Li, 2011). ...
... Research shows that PPC enhances teachers' professional development status, identity, and effectiveness (Allameh et al., 2018;Wang & Li, 2011). Teachers' work engagement, achievement emotions, academic performance, and sense of grit have also been correlated with their PPC (Wu & Kang, 2023;Xu, 2023;Xu & Zhu, 2022). Another area that EFL teachers' PPC may also affect is their perceived An investigation into the predictive role of EFL teachers' sense... emotions and how they regulate them. ...
... This is empirically in line with previous studies (e.g., Alemdar & Anilan, 2020), which highlighted the role of PPC in shaping teachers' emotions and capital. The results also reflect those of Wu and Kang (2023), who ran a quantitative study in China and argued that psychological capital engenders achievement emotions and success in English language education. ...
A large number of empirical studies has been done on diverse psycho-emotional variables related to second/foreign language (L2) education in different educational settings. However, the literature is limited chiefly to learner-psychology variables, with attention turning to teacher psychology only recently. Three crucial constructs related to L2 teachers are grit, positive psychological capital, and emotional literacy. However, the interaction between these three has received scarce (if any) attention so far. To fill this gap, this quantitative study delved into the predicting role of teachers’ grit and positive psychological capital in their emotional literacy. To this end, the 560 EFL teachers who participated in this study completed three scales over four months. Structural equation modelling (SEM) and regression analysis revealed a positive association among EFL teachers’ grit, positive psychological capital, and emotional literacy. Moreover, the regression analysis results pinpointed that both grit and positive psychological capital could significantly predict EFL teachers’ emotional literacy. More specifically, it was found that grit and positive psychological capital could jointly predict 67% of the variance in emotional literacy. The study provides implications for EFL teachers, researchers, school managers, and teacher educators regarding the prominence of emotional factors in language teaching.
... On the one hand, the impact of emotional and cognitive engagement on educational outcomes works indirectly via behavioural engagement [42]. On the other hand, behavioural engagement has a more substantial impact on school outcomes than the other aspects of academic engagement [43]. As the core aspect of academic engagement, behavioural engagement significantly predicts academic motivation [44], academic achievement [45], self-regulation [46], and subjective well-being [47]. ...
... Participants responded to the items on a five-point Likert scale, with higher scores indicating a higher commitment to English learning. The reliability of this scale has been validated in previous studies [43,48]. The CFA results indicated that the model fit the data well: χ 2 (2) = 9.650, p <.001, CFI = 0.997, TLI = 0.992, RMSEA = 0.052, 90% CI [0.023, 0.088], SRMR = 0.007, indicating that foreign language learning engagement scale possesses strong construct validity. ...
Inspired by self-determination theory (SDT), the Academic Motivation Scale (AMS) was developed to measure students’ learning motivation. While the AMS has been widely validated and used in educational contexts, it has generally overlooked the domain-specific nature of academic motivation, particularly in learning English as a foreign language (EFL) in China, home to the world’s largest population of EFL learners. This study sought to adapt the AMS and substantiate its validity using both within-network and between-network approaches with a sample of 1,390 Chinese secondary EFL learners. Results from item analysis, internal consistency, and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) showed that the 28-item EFL-specific AMS exhibits robust psychometric properties, characterised by a seven-factor structure, and demonstrates invariance across gender and grade levels. Structural equation modelling (SEM) analyses further indicated that both extrinsic and intrinsic motivations are positively correlated with perceived teacher support, engagement, and achievement, whereas amotivation is inversely associated with these outcomes. Implications, limitations, and directions for future research are also discussed.
... The concept of PPC refers to different mental resources that a person employs to develop personally and professionally in a dynamic manner (Luthans et al., 2007). It is a positive developmental state in an individual, which can bring about other positive emotions and affect his/her performance (Li et al., 2024;Wu & Kang, 2023). Concerning EFL teachers, PPC is reported to increase their job performance, commitment, and satisfaction (Viseu et al., 2016). ...
... Concerning EFL teachers, PPC is reported to increase their job performance, commitment, and satisfaction (Viseu et al., 2016). It enhances positivity and reduces negativity in teachers (Ferradás et al., 2019;Wu & Kang, 2023;Xu, 2023). Research also shows that PPC fosters teachers' professionalism and identity construction (Allameh et al., 2018;Wang & Li, 2011), but the way it ensures their professional success is overlooked. ...
English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers' professional success has been claimed to depend on numerous factors in the literature. However, the interactive influence of psycho-affective and cognitive factors on this construct has been neglected. To address this gap, this quantitative study used three scales to test an associational model of positive psychological capital (PPC), cognitive flexibility, and professional success. It also tried to uncover if PPC and cognitive flexibility could predict EFL teachers' professional success. To do so, 533 Chinese EFL teachers took part in a survey. The results of structural equation modeling, correlation analysis , and multiple regression showed a strong and positive link among teachers' PPC, cognitive flexibility, and professional success. Furthermore, it was revealed that PPC and cognitive flexibility could collectively predict about 53% of the variations in Chinese EFL teachers' professional success. The study discusses the results and presents some implications for teachers, teacher trainers, and authorities, who can work on the psycho-affective and cognitive aspects of teacher professionalism and success.
... However, three limitations need to be addressed. First, in addition to gender and age, factors such as socioeconomic status (Yeung et al., 2022), psychological capital (Wu & Kang, 2023a), and prior achievement (Hemmings & Kay, 2010) are also possible predictors of academic achievement; thus, future studies are suggested to control more factors to deepen the understanding the relationship between parental support, FL self-concept, and FL achievement. Second, the cross-sectional design of the present study determines that the causal relationships between studied variables could not be drawn. ...
The contribution of parental support to academic achievement has been adequately explored. However, the mediating mechanisms between parental support and academic achievement should be more studied, especially in teaching English as a foreign language (EFL). Consequently, this study was designed to examine whether academic self-concept a mediating between parental support and academic achievement among Chinese EFL learners. Participants were 499 Chinese secondary EFL learners selected through convenience sampling. The relationship between parental support, academic self-concept, and English achievement was explored by structural equation modelling analysis (SEM) and mediation analysis while controlling for gender and age. Results showed that parental support could affect English achievement directly and indirectly through academic self-concept. Additionally, academic self-concept fully mediated the relationship between parental support and English achievement. Theoretical and practical implications, limitations and directions for future research are discussed.
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... Moreover, English proficiency is vital for receiving an honour (York et al., 2015) and job promotion (Bolton & Botha, 2015). Given the significance of English proficiency, numerous studies have been conducted to identify the antecedents of English proficiency, including academic self-concept (Kang & Wu, 2022), teacher support (Wu & Kang, 2023), and psychological capital (Wu & Kang, 2023a). ...
Based on social support theory, this study aims to verify that the relationship between teacher support and academic proficiency is mediated by academic self-concept in teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) settings. Seventh-grade students (n = 206) and eighth-grade students (n = 293) in a middle school were invited to participate in the questionnaire survey. Structural equation modelling (SEM) and mediation analysis examined the relationship between teacher support, academic self-concept, and academic proficiency among 499 secondary EFL learners. There are three significant findings. First, teacher support positively predicts academic proficiency. Second, academic self-concept was positively correlated with academic proficiency. Third, academic self-concept fully mediated the relationship between teacher support and academic proficiency. This study contributes to the literature by exploring the mediating mechanism between teacher support and academic proficiency in the EFL context. Implications, limitations, and directions for future research are discussed.
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An increasing attention has already been paid to learners’ positive emotions. However, investigating the role of foreign language peace of mind (FLPoM) in language learners’ academic engagement has received scant attention. The present study therefore aims to explore whether EFL learners’ FLPoM, foreign language enjoyment (FLE), and psychological capital (PsyCap) can impact their academic engagement. The participants were 200 EFL learners who completed four questionnaires. The results of structural equation modelling (SEM) analysis revealed that learners’ FLPoM, FLE, and PsyCap significantly contributed to their academic engagement. Moreover, FLE was identified as the strongest predictor of academic engagement. The results of the present study highlighted the criticality of positive emotions in expanding learners’ engagement in learning a foreign language. Regarding the tenets of self-determination theory, the findings imply that psychological resources coupled with positive relatedness can yield effective engagement. Finally, suggestions for future research were offered.
Drawing upon the control-value theory (CVT), various subject domains have explored the relationship and mediating mechanism between academic boredom and academic achievement. However, few studies have explored the potential mediating effect of cognitive strategies in the association between academic boredom and achievement, especially intheEnglish as a foreign language (EFL) learning context. A sample of 524 Chinese secondary EFL learners from one middle school using convenience sampling participated in the study. Results of structural equation modelling (SEM) analyses and mediation analysis indicated that organizational strategies partially mediated the link between foreign language boredom (FLB) and foreign language proficiency(FLP). This research further revealed the mediating mechanism between FLB and FLP. Implications, shortcomings, and directions for future research are discussed
The present study adopted a mixed-methods approach using a convergent parallel design to focus on the role that positive and negative emotions have in the Foreign Language (FL) classroom on the ontogenesis of positive flow. Participants were 1,044 FL learners from around the world. They provided quantitative and qualitative data on FL enjoyment (FLE), classroom anxiety (FLCA) and experience of flow via an on-line questionnaire (Dewaele, Jean-Marc & Peter D. MacIntyre. 2014. The two faces of Janus? Anxiety and enjoyment in the foreign language classroom. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching 4. 237–274). FLE was a significantly stronger predictor of frequency of flow experience than FLCA. Further statistical analyses revealed that flow experiences are typically self-centred, infrequent and short-lived at the start of the FL learning journey and when the perceived social standing in the group is low. They become an increasingly shared experience, more frequent, stronger and more sustained as learners reach a more advanced level in their FL. What starts as an occasional individual spark can turn into a true fire that extends to other group members. The findings are illustrated by participants’ reports on enjoyable episodes in the FL classroom in which some reported complete involvement in an individual or collective task, merging of action and awareness, joyful bonding with classmates, intense focus and joy, loss of self-consciousness, sense of time and place.
The present study focused on differences in intensity of Foreign Language Enjoyment (FLE), Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety (FLCA), and proportion of time in a state of flow among 761 English FL learners and 825 FL learners of Languages Other Than English (LOTE). Participants in the LOTE group reported significantly higher levels of FLE and a higher proportion of class time in a state of flow, as well as lower levels of FLCA than the EFL group - although the effect size was very small. This suggests that the global status and prestige of English does not mean that learners around the world enjoy the classes more, spend more time in a state of flow or experience less anxiety. The relationships between FLE, FLCA and proportion of class time in a state of flow were also found to be higher in the LOTE group, suggesting stronger emotional involvement.
KEYWORDS:
Foreign Language Enjoyment; Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety; Flow; English; Languages Other Than English (LOTE)
This study was an investigation of the relationship between past and present learning experiences of first-year college students and of how the psychological capital and academic self-efficacy they had accrued from past learning experiences were correlated with their current learning engagement. Longitudinal data were collected to examine how students' learning experiences in high school impacted their learning in college. Structural equation modeling (SEM) and bootstrapping techniques were employed in data analysis. Results indicated that psychological capital and academic self-efficacy functioned as mediators between students' past learning experience and present learning engagement. Overall, the findings highlight the importance of these two psychological constructs and suggest that postsecondary institutions should provide learning environments that support these factors to ensure student success.
Using a path analytic approach with a sample of Norwegian undergraduate readers, we investigated the effects of behavioral engagement on text comprehension as reflected in students’ post-reading written reports on the topic in question. Results indicated that the behavioral engagement components of writing time and the length of the written responses had distinctive, unique effects on comprehension performance, and that behavioral engagement also mediated the effects of cognitive (prior knowledge, working memory) and motivational (intrinsic reading motivation) individual differences on comprehension performance. Prior knowledge about the topic affected comprehension performance directly as well as indirectly through behavioral engagement. The results highlight the importance of behavioral engagement in the context of written comprehension assessment, and both theoretical and educational implications of these results are discussed.
Learning efficacy can be substantially improved through the frequent use of learning strategies, whose practicality has been confirmed through extensive research. Thus, the purpose of the current study is to contribute to this wealth of research by determining whether learning strategies are significant predictors of students' achievement in learning English as a foreign language (EFL) as well as by exploring strategy awareness and variations in strategy use by gender, grade level, and overall grade point average (GPA) among 206 high school students. The results indicated that cognitive strategies are significant positive predictors, while memory and affective strategies are significant negative predictors of students' achievement in foreign language learning. Moreover, the findings revealed a significant impact of overall GPA and an insignificant impact of gender and grade level on the use of strategy subtypes, with the most frequently used strategies being metacognitive and the least frequently used being affective strategies. Furthermore, this research highlights the importance of incorporating strategies-based instruction methods into foreign language curriculums in the Bosnian context and also aims to raise teachers' awareness of the importance of their application in the classroom milieu.
This study validated the school psychological capital (PsyCap) scale in the Chinese context and examined the predictive effect of PsyCap resources on academic engagement and achievement emotions. Self-report data for PsyCap resources, student engagement, enjoyment, anxiety, and boredom toward English learning were collected from 1,000 sophomores. Item-level analyses and confirmatory factor analysis were used to verify the validity of the school PsyCap scale, and structural equation modeling was applied to reveal the predictive effect of school PsyCap resources on academic engagement and achievement emotions. Results showed that the school PsyCap scale retained superior psychometric properties. Besides, PsyCap resources were demonstrated to have a positive relationship to academic engagement and enjoyment, and a negative relationship to anxiety and boredom. The effectiveness of the school PsyCap scale was verified among Chinese college students, and besides the traditional predictors, school PsyCap is also critically important for students’ academic engagement and achievement emotions. Limitations and implications are discussed.
Academic achievement represents performance outcomes that indicate the extent to which a person has accomplished specific goals that were the focus of activities in instructional environments, specifically in school, college, and university. School systems mostly define cognitive goals that either apply across multiple subject areas (e.g., critical thinking) or include the acquisition of knowledge and understanding in a specific intellectual domain (e.g., numeracy, literacy, science, history). Therefore, academic achievement should be considered to be a multifaceted construct that comprises different domains of learning. Because the field of academic achievement is very wide-ranging and covers a broad variety of educational outcomes, the definition of academic achievement depends on the indicators used to measure it. Among the many criteria that indicate academic achievement, there are very general indicators such as procedural and declarative knowledge acquired in an educational system, more curricular-based criteria such as grades or performance on an educational achievement test, and cumulative indicators of academic achievement such as educational degrees and certificates. All criteria have in common that they represent intellectual endeavors and thus, more or less, mirror the intellectual capacity of a person. In developed societies, academic achievement plays an important role in every person’s life. Academic achievement as measured by the GPA (grade point average) or by standardized assessments designed for selection purpose such as the SAT (Scholastic Assessment Test) determines whether a student will have the opportunity to continue his or her education (e.g., to attend a university). Therefore, academic achievement defines whether one can take part in higher education, and based on the educational degrees one attains, influences one’s vocational career after education. Besides the relevance for an individual, academic achievement is of utmost importance for the wealth of a nation and its prosperity. The strong association between a society’s level of academic achievement and positive socioeconomic development is one reason for conducting international studies on academic achievement, such as PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment), administered by the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development). The results of these studies provide information about different indicators of a nation’s academic achievement; such information is used to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of a nation’s educational system and to guide educational policy decisions. Given the individual and societal importance of academic achievement, it is not surprising that academic achievement is the research focus of many scientists; for example, in psychology or educational disciplines. This article focuses on the explanation, determination, enhancement, and assessment of academic achievement as investigated by educational psychologists.
Teacher enthusiasm is attracting growing attention in educational and learner psychology research. There is evidence that teacher enthusiasm is contagious in class and positively affects student emotions. Their fundamental role in shaping student engagement has also been well documented. However, the links – between teacher enthusiasm and student emotions, and between student emotions and engagement – remain underexplored in instructed second language acquisition. The present study adopted a mixed-method approach to examine the complex relationships between perceived teacher enthusiasm, emotions (enjoyment and boredom), and social-behavioral learning engagement among 2,002 learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) from 11 universities in China. Quantitative analyses showed small to large correlations between perceived teacher enthusiasm, enjoyment, boredom, and social-behavioral learning engagement. In addition, student enjoyment and boredom were found to co-mediate the relationship between perceptions of teacher enthusiasm and student social-behavioral engagement in English classes. Qualitative interviews with nine students provided insights into the potential causes of the statistical patterns. Theoretical and pedagogical implications are discussed, followed by directions for future research.
Previous studies have predominantly investigated the impacts of psychological capital (PsyCap: self-efficacy, optimism, hope, and resilience) on employees’ work outcomes, but only a few on student outcomes. Moreover, the possible indirect processes have largely been neglected. This study investigated whether the impacts of social support on students’ well-being, academic performance, and behavioral conduct are mediated by PsyCap and then study engagement and problem-focused coping. Participants were 451 Hong Kong grade four students (43.7% female). A questionnaire survey method was used. Structural equation modeling was conducted to analyze the hypothesized mediation model. The impact of social support on well-being was mediated by PsyCap and then study engagement and problem-focused coping. The impact of social support on academic performance was mediated by PsyCap and then study engagement. The impact of social support on behavioral conduct was mediated by PsyCap and then problem-focused coping. These findings disentangle the mechanisms underlying the associations of social support and PsyCap with student outcomes and inform the design of future PsyCap interventions.
Researchers are increasingly interested in how personal characteristics are related to
academic performance and whether study engagement has an impact on different
experiences in student life. Drawing on Conservation of Resources (COR) theory, this
study examines the relationship between psychological capital (PsyCap) and
engagement, and, further, the relationship between engagement and performance,
boredom, and burnout among university students. Using data gathered from 420
university students (242 responses from India and 178 from Romania), partial least
squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) methods showed that study
engagement partially mediates the relation between PsyCap and academic
performance, and also between PsyCap and burnout or boredom. The present study
advances our knowledge about PsyCap and engagement as possible antecedents of
university students’ performance, burnout, and boredom, across both samples. Results
suggest that developing interventions that strengthen students' resources by increasing
their hope, resilience, self-efficacy, and optimism could foster their study engagement
and academic performance and protect them from burnout and boredom.
This article reports on a two-step investigation of foreign language learning boredom amongst Chinese university non-English-major EFL students and English teachers. In Study 1, 22 students and 11 English teachers were interviewed and 659 students responded to an open questionnaire, recalling and describing their experiences and
perceptions of boredom in learning English. The data allowed a multidimensional conceptualization of Foreign Language Learning Boredom (FLLB), empirically supporting the control-value theory in educational psychology. Study 2 used the new conceptualization to develop and validate a new scale for FLLB. Through surveying 808 students in a pilot and 2,223 in the main study, a 7-factor Foreign Language Learning Boredom Scale (FLLBS) with 32 items was constructed and validated using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses as well as further validity and reliability analyses. It is argued that FLLB is a crucial addition to the emerging field of foreign language (FL) learning emotion research.
There is a growing research interest in a variety of emotions in L2 (second/foreign language) classrooms, especially since the introduction of positive psychology. However, research on the ubiquitous emotional experience of boredom is scant. Building on its prevalence and documented deleterious effects, I argue that research on the antecedents for the instigation of boredom is needed. Based on the control-value theory (CVT) of achievement emotions in educational psychology, this study took a mixed methods approach to examine control-value appraisals as antecedents of boredom in English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) among Chinese university students. In line with the CVT assumptions, Pearson correlation analyses and regression analyses (n =2002) showed that different control-value appraisals predicted boredom uniquely or interactively. Qualitative data from interviews with 11 students and 11 English teachers expanded the quantitative results by including more complexities in the associations between control-value appraisals and boredom. These findings provide further support for the CVT and help to elucidate the instigation of boredom in L2 learning context. Directions for future research and implications for L2 educational practice are discussed.
The aim of this study was to examine whether the association between psychological capital (PsyCap; which is comprised of hope, self‐efficacy, resilience, and optimism) and optimal engagement is mediated by positive emotions. Three studies were conducted across different cultural contexts (Hong Kong SAR, Mainland China, and the Philippines), domains (academic and work), and age groups (adult employees and school‐aged adolescents). Study 1 was a cross‐sectional study conducted among 162 employees in Mainland China. Study 2 was a cross‐sectional study conducted among 71 secondary school students in Hong Kong SAR. Study 3 was a prospective study conducted among 404 secondary school students in the Philippines. Across the three studies, the positive effect of PsyCap on engagement (academic and work) was partially mediated by positive emotions. This study enriches the understanding of the processes through which PsyCap is associated with optimal outcomes. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
Psychological capital (psycap) pertains to the psychological resources of hope, efficacy, resilience, and optimism. It has received much attention in the industrial-organizational literature and is related to a wide range of adaptive job-related outcomes. However, most of these studies have been conducted on adult populations and the role of psycap in the school context has not been given enough attention. The current study aimed to develop a measure of psycap for the school context and examined how it was associated with academic-related (e.g., motivation, engagement, achievement) and well-being (e.g., life satisfaction, affect) outcomes among school-aged populations. Study 1 (N = 1159) demonstrated that the School Psychological Capital Questionnaire developed in this study had excellent psychometric properties. School psycap positively predicted optimal motivation and engagement. Study 2, a cross-sectional study conducted among high school students (N = 246), revealed that school psycap was associated with optimal academic and well-being outcomes. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
This study examined to what extent teacher–student conflict and closeness, on the one hand, and students’ self-concepts of ability in literacy and mathematics, on the other, are related to students’ achievement emotions (enjoyment, anxiety and boredom) in mathematics and literacy among Finnish early adolescents (N = 854). We also investigated the extent to which these associations are moderated by student temperament (surgency/extraversion, negative affectivity and effortful control). The results showed, after accounting for relevant covariates, that in both school subjects, teacher–student conflict was negatively related to enjoyment and positively to anxiety and boredom, whereas teacher–student closeness was positively related to enjoyment and negatively to boredom. Self-concepts of ability in both school subjects were positively related to enjoyment and negatively to anxiety, whereas the self-concept of ability was only negatively related to boredom in mathematics. Student temperament also moderated some of the associations in the literacy domain. Lower levels of conflict in the teacher–student relationship were related to higher levels of enjoyment in literacy, particularly among students who had lower levels of surgency/extraversion. Also, a closer relationship with the teacher or a lower self-concept of ability in literacy was related to higher levels of anxiety, particularly among students who had low effortful control. In the mathematics domain, the associations between the self-concept of ability and achievement emotions were somewhat stronger than in literacy, and the domain-specific associations were not dependent on student temperament.
The present study examined the relationship between positive emotions and academic performance, and the mediated role played by academic psychological capital and academic engagement, in a sample of 497 Chilean high school students. Participants´ ages ranged from 14 to 17 years old, with a mean of 15.71 (SD = 1.15). Findings supported our hypothesized model that academic psychological capital and academic engagement mediate the relationship between positive emotions and academic performance (GPA). The proposed model has theoretical implications for future research and practical implications for school settings. The promotion of positive emotions in students is a relevant challenge for principals, teachers, and parents in attempting to build academic psychological capital and academic engagement, which in turn may lead to higher academic performance.
Parents and teachers—primary socializers across elementary grades—offer potentially differential support mechanisms for children’s healthy functioning across developmental periods. Utilizing child, parent, teacher, and observational data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Department Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (n = 1,031), we employed a longitudinal path model to examine indirect associations between parents’ and teachers’ academic influences (i.e., direct parental involvement, the student–teacher relationship, instructional support) and achievement (reading and math) through behavioral engagement at 1st and 5th grades. Results indicated indirect associations linking direct parental involvement (positively, 1st grade only), student–teacher conflict (negatively, both grades), and instructional support (positively, both grades) to achievement via behavioral engagement, after accounting for the co-occurrence of parents’ and teachers’ academic influences and other child characteristics. School psychologists may opt for interventions focusing on parents’ and teachers’ academic influence to indirectly effect achievement by promoting elementary school behavioral engagement.
The present study took a meta-analytic approach to investigate whether students' engagement acts as a mediator in the association between affective teacher-student relationships and students' achievement. Furthermore, we examined whether results differed for primary and secondary school and whether similar results were found in a longitudinal subsample. Our sample consisted of 189 studies (249,198 students in total) that included students from preschool to high school. A distinction was made between positive relationship aspects (e.g., closeness) and negative relationship aspects (e.g., conflict). Meta-analytic structural equation modeling showed that, overall, the associations between both positive relationships and achievement and negative relationships and achievement were partially mediated by student engagement. Subsequent analyses revealed that mediation is applicable to both primary and secondary school. Only the direct association between positive relationships and engagement was stronger in secondary school than in primary school. Finally, partial mediation was also found in the longitudinal subsample.
Secondary school is a vulnerable time where stagnation or declines in classroom behavioral engagement occur for many students, and peer relationships take on a heightened significance. We examined the implications of adolescents’ perceptions of relatedness with classroom peers for their academic learning. Participants were 1084 adolescents (53% female) in 65 middle and high school classrooms. Multilevel cross-lagged path analyses found that adolescents’ perceived relatedness with classroom peers subsequently predicted their increased self-reported behavioral engagement in that classroom from fall to winter and again from winter to spring. Higher engagement in spring predicted higher end of year objective achievement test scores after statistical control of prior year test scores. Implications are discussed for increasing classroom peer relatedness to enhance adolescents’ achievement.
The combined effect of positive and negative emotions in Second Language Acquisition (SLA) has attracted the attention of researchers influenced by the Positive Psychology movement (Dewaele & MacIntyre, 2014; 2016a). The current study is based on a pseudo-longitudinal design to investigate how the positive and negative emotions of 189 foreign language pupils in two London schools evolved over time. A comparison of the mean values of Foreign Language Enjoyment (FLE) and Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety (FLCA) among 12-13 year olds (age group 1), 14-15 year olds (age group 2) and 16-18 year olds (age group 3) showed little variation in FLCA and a slight increase in FLE. Multiple regression analyses revealed that fewer independent variables (learner-internal and teacher-centred variables) predicted FLE and FLCA at the start and at the end of the secondary education compared to the middle phase. These findings suggest that the causes of positive and negative emotions are dynamic and change over time. Moreover, the nature of the relationships changes.
Psychological capital (PsyCap) has been widely investigated in the organizational context. However, limited attention has been given to the role of PsyCap in the academic setting. The primary objective of this study was to examine how PsyCap is associated with academic motivation, engagement, and achievement using both cross-sectional (Study 1) and longitudinal (Study 2) approaches. Study 1 revealed that PsyCap was associated with higher autonomous motivation and controlled motivation even after controlling for relevant demographic variables. PsyCap was also associated with lower levels of amotivation. Study 2 showed that PsyCap was both a concurrent and prospective predictor of autonomous motivation, controlled motivation, academic engagement, and academic achievement even after controlling for their respective autoregressors and other relevant covariates. Mediational analyses indicated that the effects of T1 PsyCap on achievement and engagement were mediated by autonomous motivation. The theoretical and practical implications are elucidated.
The present study focuses on gender differences in Foreign Language Enjoyment (FLE) and Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety (FLCA) among 1746 FL learners (1287 females, 449 males) from around the world. We used 21 items Likert scale ratings reflecting various aspects of FLE (AUTHORS), and 8 items extracted from the FLCAS (Horwitz et al., 1986). An open question on FLE also provided us with narrative data. Previous research on the database, relying on an average measure of FLE and FLCA (AUTHORS) revealed significant gender differences. The present study looks at gender differences in FLE and FLCA at item level.
Independent t-tests revealed that female participants reported having significantly more fun in the FL class where they felt that they were learning interesting things, and they were prouder than male peers of their FL performance. However, female participants also experienced significantly more (mild) FLCA: they worried significantly more than male peers about their mistakes and were less confident in using the FL. Our female participants thus reported experiencing both more positive and more mild negative emotions in the FL classroom. We argue that this heightened emotionality benefits the acquisition and use of the FL.
Previous literature emphasized the role of psychological capital (PsyCap) in fostering positive organizational and work outcomes. However, there were very scarce investigations on the benefits of PsyCap especially in non-Western academic settings. The current research addresses this gap through assessing the extent to which PsyCap can be associated with optimal academic and well-being outcomes. There were 606 Filipino high school students who were recruited in the study. The results of structural equation modeling revealed that PsyCap positively predicted academic engagement, flourishing, interdependent happiness, and positive affect. Implications of the findings are elaborated in terms of how PsyCap can potentially assist in facilitating positive student outcomes in a non-Western context.
The now widely recognized core construct of psychological capital (PsyCap) consists of the state-like positive psychological resources of hope, efficacy, resilience, and optimism. PsyCap has been empirically shown in the research literature to be related to various employee attitudinal, behavioral, and performance outcomes and open to development and change. Most recently, PsyCap has also been shown to be significantly related to business student academic performance. Using a pretest, posttest control group design, the present study tested whether the PsyCap of business students can be developed through a micro-training intervention. Results from this quasi-experimental study provide initial support that the Academic PsyCap of business students can be positively affected by a short training intervention.
A growing body of empirical evidence has shown that although social support (SS) can predict subjective well-being (SWB), the relationship between SS and SWB is still unclear. In this study we investigated the role that positive psychological capital (PPC) plays in the relationship between SS and SWB. The results showed that PPC, SS, and SWB were positively related. The more important result, however, was that PPC mediated the relationship between SS and SWB. The findings are discussed in the context of the importance of PPC for SWB. Limitations in this study and implications for future research are identified.
This article presents a motivational conceptualization of engagement and disaffection: First, it emphasizes children's constructive, focused, enthusiastic participation in the activities of classroom learning; second, it distinguishes engagement from disaffection, as well as behavioral features from emotional features. Psychometric properties of scores from teacher and student reports of behavioral engagement, emotional engagement, behavioral disaffection, and emotional disaffection were examined using data from 1,018 third through sixth graders. Structural analyses of the four indicators confirm that a multidimensional structure fits the data better than do bipolar or unidimensional models. Validity of scores is supported by findings that teacher reports are correlated with student reports, with in vivo observations in the classroom, and with markers of self-system and social contextual processes. As such, these measures capture important features of engagement and disaffection in the classroom, and any comprehensive assessment should include markers of each. Additional dimensions are identified, pointing the way to future research.
This article reviews the contemporary literature on school-based activity participation, focusing on patterns of participation, academic achievement, substance use, sexual activity, psychological adjustment, delinquency, and young adult outcomes. Also, the authors discuss possible mediators and moderators of extracurricular activity participation in regard to adolescent development. The review indicates that the associations between school-based activity participation and these outcomes are mostly positive but that the picture becomes mixed once moderator variables are included. The authors suggest areas for future research that include using new methods for measuring activities and applying an overarching theoretical framework to investigations of extracurricular activities and adolescent development. Finally, to move toward a causal model of activities and adolescent functioning, future research must consider the mechanisms through which activities exert their influence on development. The authors propose several possible mechanisms of participation in terms of adjustment during adolescence and young adulthood.
the increasing complexity of decision making about structural equation models and comprehensiveness of computer software for estimating them has created a significant burden for researchers in the social and behavioral sciences / researchers who choose to address substantive research questions using the structural equation modeling (SEM) approach are faced with the task of sifting through the large amount of output routinely generated by SEM software and deciding how to present information in a way that permits a reasoned evaluation and understanding of their analysis / provide a set of general recommendations that promote effective and complete communication of results from SEM analyses (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Demonstrates the application of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) in testing 1st- and higher-order factor models and their invariance across independent groups, using a LISREL (linear structural relations) framework. Data from a study by the 1st author et al (see record
1985-09311-001) gathered from administration of the Self-Description Questionnaire (SDQ) to 658 Australian children in Grades 2, 3, 4, and 5 were used to examine the factor structure. The original study tested theoretical predications about the structure of self-concept advanced by R. J. Shavelson et al (see record
1978-30429-001) and Shavelson and R. Bolus (see record
1982-22201-001). In the present demonstration, CFA indicated that the basic factor model hypothesized to underlie the SDQ provided a good fit to the data across 4 age groups. Model 5, which proposes that there are 2 academic factors at the 2nd-order level that combine with the nonacademic factor to form a General Self factor at the 3rd-order level, was found to provide the best fit. Means and standard deviations for the 28 subscales of the SDQ are appended. (63 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Aside from test anxiety scales, measurement instruments assessing students’ achievement emotions are largely lacking. This article reports on the construction, reliability, internal validity, and external validity of the Achievement Emotions Questionnaire (AEQ) which is designed to assess various achievement emotions experienced by students in academic settings. The instrument contains 24 scales measuring enjoyment, hope, pride, relief, anger, anxiety, shame, hopelessness, and boredom during class, while studying, and when taking tests and exams. Scale construction used a rational–empirical strategy based on Pekrun’s (2006) control-value theory of achievement emotions and prior exploratory research. The instrument was tested in a study using a sample of university students (N = 389). Findings indicate that the scales are reliable, internally valid as demonstrated by confirmatory factor analysis, and externally valid in terms of relationships with students’ control-value appraisals, learning, and academic performance. The results provide further support for the control-value theory and help to elucidate the structure and role of emotions in educational settings. Directions for future research and implications for educational practice are discussed.Research highlights► First comprehensive instrument measuring students’ multiple achievement emotions. ► Findings corroborate Pekrun’s control-value theory of achievement emotions. ► Need to differentiate between various discrete emotions. ► Achievement emotions linked to motivation, strategies, self-regulation, performance.
Research on school Psychological Capital (PsyCap) and achievement emotions have been carried out in parallel with almost no intersection. This study aims to explore the potential synergies between these two paradigms by investigating whether school PsyCap has a predictive effect on discrete achievement emotions. Chinese secondary school students (N = 1067) took part in the study. Structural Equation Modeling analyses were conducted to examine the linkage between these two variables after controlling for demographic variables of gender and year level, and crucial antecedents of parental expectations, the teacher-student relationship, and prior academic achievement. Results indicated that individual variation in school PsyCap was the significant predictor of achievement emotions. Specifically, school PsyCap was positively correlated with positive achievement emotions such as enjoyment, hope, and pride, while it was negatively correlated with negative achievement emotions such as anger, anxiety, shame, boredom, and hopelessness. Both limitations and implications are discussed.
Based on self-system processes theory and transactional theory, a longitudinal design was employed to test the reciprocal relations among basic psychological needs satisfaction at school (BPNSS), behavioral engagement, and academic achievement. A total of 627 elementary school students from Grades 3-4 in China (Mage = 9.01, 45.8% female) completed measures of BPNSS and behavioral engagement in the middle of four consecutive semesters. Teachers also assessed students’ academic achievement at the end of the first three consecutive semesters. After controlling for gender, age, and fathers’ and mothers’ education, the results indicated that: (a) BPNSS, behavioral engagement, and academic achievement reciprocally facilitated each other directly; (b) BPNSS indirectly enhanced academic achievement via behavioral engagement, and academic achievement also indirectly enhanced BPNSS via behavioral engagement. Findings suggested that BPNSS, behavioral engagement, and academic achievement formed a complex, dynamic system. Limitations and practical applications of the study were discussed.
Based on the control-value theory of achievement emotions, this longitudinal study examined students’ control-value appraisals as antecedents of their enjoyment and boredom in mathematics. Self-report data for appraisals and emotions were collected from 579 students in their final year of primary schooling over three waves. Data were analyzed using latent interaction structural equation modeling. Control-value appraisals predicted emotions interactively depending on which specific subjective value was paired with perceived control. Achievement value amplified the positive relation between perceived control and enjoyment, and intrinsic value reduced the negative relation between perceived control and boredom. These longitudinal findings demonstrate that control and value appraisals, and their interaction, are critically important for the development of students’ enjoyment and boredom over time.
The reciprocal relations of motivation with affective, behavioral, and cognitive engagement were tested. Engagement, conceptualized as processes that indicate productive participation in learning activities, was measured using the Activity Engagement Survey with students participating in a variety of activities in both schools and a museum. The multifaceted nature of engagement and the consistency of this structure across contexts and activities was examined over six different science activities on six different days within classrooms (Study 1, sixth graders from 10 different schools) and over two different science museum exhibits in one day (Study 2, fifth graders). These age groups were chosen because they are a pivotal time in science motivation. A series of confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to investigate the nature of affective, behavioral, cognitive, and overall engagement. A bifactor model with both affective and combined behavioral-cognitive factors along with an overall engagement factor had the best fit across all eight activities. Reciprocal relations between motivation (measured at Time 1 and Time 3) and engagement (at Time 2) were tested using Structural Equation Modeling. Results indicate that, in school settings (Study 1), self-efficacy was negatively related and mastery goals were positively related to affective engagement, whereas overall engagement predicted all forms of motivation. In the museum exhibits (Study 2), self-efficacy was positively related to overall engagement and performance-approach goal orientations were positively related to behavioral-cognitive engagement.
Providing effective motivational support is a critical determinant of a successful online distance learning experience for students in higher education. In this study, we examined how students’ academic level and use of 8 motivational regulation strategies influence 3 types of student engagement: behavioral engagement, emotional engagement, and cognitive engagement. A total of 95 undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in online courses in 4-year universities in the United States participated in this study. A series of hierarchical regression analyses of undergraduate and graduate online students (N = 95) showed that behavioral engagement, emotional engagement, and cognitive engagement are predicted by different motivational regulation strategies after controlling for the academic level. Additionally, students’ academic level was found to be a predictor of cognitive engagement but not a predictor of behavioral engagement or emotional engagement. The results suggest that online course instructors, tutors, and designers should provide students with differentiated motivational scaffolding based on their motivational profile in order to promote different aspects of learning engagement.
The now recognized core construct of psychological capital, or simply PsyCap, draws from positive psychology in general and positive organizational behavior (POB) in particular. The first-order positive psychological resources that make up PsyCap include hope, efficacy, resilience, and optimism, or the HERO within. These four best meet the inclusion criteria of being theory- and research-based, positive, validly measurable, state-like, and having impact on attitudes, behaviors, performance and well-being. The article first provides the background and precise meaning of PsyCap and then comprehensively reviews its measures, theoretical mechanisms, antecedents and outcomes, levels of analysis, current status and needed research, and finally application. Particular emphasis is given to practical implications, which focuses on PsyCap development, positive leadership, and novel applications such as the use of video games and gamification techniques. The overriding theme throughout is that PsyCap has both scientific, evidence-based rigor and practical relevance. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior Volume 4 is March 21, 2017. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.
Because of the prevalence of both nonnormal and categorical data in empirical research, this chapter focuses on issues surrounding the use of data with these characteristics. Specifically, we review the assumptions underlying NT estimators. We describe nonnormal and categorical data and review robustness studies of the most popular NT estimator, maximum likelihood (ML), in order to understand the consequences of violating these assumptions. Most importantly, we discuss three popular strategies often used to accommodate nonnormal and/or categorical data in SEM: 1. Weighted least squares (WLS) estimation, 2. Satorra-Bentler (S-B) scaled χ² and robust standard errors, and 3. Robust diagonally weighted least squares (DWLS) estimation. For each strategy, we present the following: (a) a description of the strategy, (b) a summary of research concerning the robustness of the χ²-statistic, other fit indices, parameter estimates, and standard errors, and (c) a description of implementation across three software programs.
Recent theoretical conceptualizations of student engagement have raised questions about how to measure student engagement and how engagement varies not only across schools, but also within school and within classrooms. The authors build on existing research on student behavioral engagement and extend this research to emphasize a continuum of disengagement, active engagement, and passive engagement. They review common approaches to measuring engagement and highlight areas where new theoretical conceptualizations of engagement require new approaches to measurement. The authors analyze how student behavioral engagement changed depending on the context and demonstrate the need of a finer scale of engagement. They find there was not a uniform association of higher behavioral engagement and student interaction with peers, but it was the interaction with other students and the teacher that was predictive of increased engagement. Their work suggests that disaggregating behavioral engagement into disengagement, active engagement, and passive engagement has important research and conceptual implications.
This book draws from a foundation of positive psychology and recently emerging positive organizational behavior (POB). Its purpose is to introduce the untapped human resource capacity of psychological capital, or simply PsyCap. This PsyCap goes beyond traditionally recognized human and social capital and must meet the scientific criteria of theory, research, and valid measurement. To distinguish from other constructs in positive psychology and organizational behavior, to be included in PsyCap the resource capacity must also be 'state-like' and thus open to development (as opposed to momentary states or fixed traits) and have performance impact. The positive psychological resource capacities that meet these PsyCap criteria - efficacy (confidence), hope, optimism, and resilience - are covered in separate chapters. These four resource capacities are conceptually and empirically distinct, but also have underlying common processes for striving to succeed and when in combination contribute to a higher-order, core construct of psychological capital. Besides these four, other potential positive constructs such as creativity, wisdom, well being, flow, humor, gratitude, forgiveness, emotional intelligence, spirituality, authenticity, and courage are covered in Chapters 6 and 7. The concluding Chapter 8 summarizes and presents the research demonstrating the performance impact of PsyCap, the PsyCap questionnaire (PCQ) for measurement and the PsyCap Intervention (PCI) for development. Utility analysis indicates that investing in the development of PsyCap can result in a very substantial return. In total, this book provides the theory, research, measure, and method of application for the new resource of Psychological Capital that can be developed and sustained for competitive advantage.
This chapter presents an overview of the assumptions and corollaries of the control-value theory of achievement emotions, as well as some of its implications for educational practice. The control-value theory provides a theoretical framework making it possible to integrate constructs and assumptions from a variety of theoretical approaches to emotions in education and to achievement emotions more generally. Empirically, many facets of the theory have consistently been corroborated in qualitative and quantitative investigations. However, the assumptions provided by the theory on how to design emotionally sound learning environments for students, and occupational environments for teachers, have yet to be tested in empirical intervention studies. There is evidence that educational interventions can reduce students' test anxiety. The control-value theory implies that shaping educational environments in adequate ways can help to change achievement emotions other than anxiety as well. Future research should systematically explore measures to help both students and teachers to develop adaptive achievement emotions, prevent maladaptive emotions, and use their emotions in productive and healthy ways.
The study sought to determine whether behavioral and psychological engagement in middle school served a protective or promotive role, thereby contributing to the resilience of African American youth from low-income rural communities. Teacher reports of adjustment (i.e., aggression, academic competence, popularity) in the sixth grade were gathered. Data on behavioral and psychological engagement across the seventh and eighth grade were collected from student self-reports. In the ninth grade, achievement data were obtained from school grades and peer assessments measured aggression. To identify profiles across multiple behavioral measures that increase risk, early adjustment configurations were derived from sixth grade teacher reports. Regression analyses indicated that youth with Troubled, Tough, and Disengaged profiles were at risk for difficulties in subsequent achievement and/or aggression. In addition, behavioral and psychological engagement had a main effect relation with achievement and/or aggression, indicating that engagement served a promotive role. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
In spite of the acknowledged importance of emotion in language learning and teaching, the field of applied linguistics has struggled to account for the role of affect in these processes. This article examines the way affect has been defined and investigated in language learning, including the nature and scope of that research and the gaps and limitations of research approaches to date. Drawing on social cognitive theory (Bandura, 2002; Martinez-Pons, 2002), and research on the intelligent processing of emotions (Goetz et al., 2005), we propose an approach to understanding affect in SLA through a self-regulatory framework. Case studies of three students learning Russian through independent study are presented to illustrate how integral the regulation of affect was to their learning experiences and choices. Regulation of affect involved cognitive appraisals of emotional antecedents and the applying of cognitive abilities to perceive, reflect on, and regulate emotions. We conclude by arguing the need for more attention to and a broader perspective on students’ affective experiences in the process of second language acquisition.
The concept of school engagement has attracted increasing attention as representing a possible antidote to declining academic motivation and achievement. Engagement is presumed to be malleable, responsive to contextual features, and amenable to environmental change. Researchers describe behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement and recommend studying engagement as a multifaceted construct. This article reviews definitions, measures, precursors, and outcomes of engagement; discusses limitations in the existing research; and suggests improvements. The authors conclude that, although much has been learned, the potential contribution of the concept of school engagement to research on student experience has yet to be realized. They call for richer characterizations of how students behave, feel, and think—research that could aid in the development of finely tuned interventions
Academic emotions have largely been neglected by educational psychology, with the exception of test anxiety. In 5 qualitative studies, it was found that students experience a rich diversity of emotions in academic settings. Anxiety was reported most often, but overall, positive emotions were described no less frequently than negative emotions. Based on the studies in this article, taxonomies of different academic emotions and a self-report instrument measuring students' enjoyment, hope, pride, relief, anger, anxiety, shame, hopelessness, and boredom (Academic Emotions Questionnaire [AEQ]) were developed. Using the AEQ, assumptions of a cognitive-motivational model of the achievement effects of emotions, and of a control/value theory of their antecedents (Pekrun, 1992b, 2000), were tested in 7 cross-sectional, 3 longitudinal, and 1 diary study using samples of university and school students. Results showed that academic emotions are significantly related to students' motivation, learning strategies, cognitive resources, self-regulation, and academic achievement, as well as to personality and classroom antecedents. The findings indicate that affective research in educational psychology should acknowledge emotional diversity in academic settings by addressing the full range of emotions experienced by students at school and university.
School engagement, or the extent to which students are involved in, attached and committed to the academic and social activities in school, plays a prominent role in preventing academic failure, promoting competence, and influencing a wide range of adolescent outcomes. Although the multidimensional nature of school engagement is well-recognized, how the three purported parts of the construct work together is largely unknown. By using data from the longitudinal, 4-H study of Positive Youth Development, involving a sample of 1,029 adolescents (67.7 % female; mean age at Grade 9 = 14.92 years; 74.4 % of participants were European American, 5.2 % were Latino/a, 7.3 % were African American), the current study examined the interrelationships of behavioral, emotional, and cognitive aspects of school engagement over three years in adolescence (Grades 9-11). We used autoregressive lagged effects models to assess the relationships among the three engagement constructs. Results indicated that behavioral and emotional engagement were related bidirectionally (each variable was a basis and an outcome of the other). In addition, behavioral engagement influenced cognitive engagement (but the reverse of this relation was not found). Implications for future research are discussed.
A primary goal of scale development is to create a valid measure of an underlying construct. We discuss theoretical principles, practical issues, and pragmatic decisions to help developers maximize the construct validity of scales and subscales. First, it is essential to begin with a clear conceptualization of the target construct. Moreover, the content of the initial item pool should be overinclusive and item wording needs careful attention. Next, the item pool should be tested, along with variables that assess closely related constructs, on a heterogeneous sample representing the entire range of the target population. Finally, in selecting scale items, the goal is unidimensionality rather than internal consistency; this means that virtually all interitem correlations should be moderate in magnitude. Factor analysis can play a crucial role in ensuring the unidimensionality and discriminant validity of scales. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)