Yajun Wu’s research while affiliated with Foshan University and other places

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.

With the affective turn in education, particularly with the control‐value theory (CVT) proposal, a wide range of antecedents of achievement emotions, including psychological capital (PsyCap), have been investigated and verified. It is worth noting, however, that few studies have examined whether cognitive appraisals mediate the association between PsyCap and achievement emotions. Using latent structural equation model analysis (SEM), this study examined whether mathematical PsyCap predicted mathematics achievement emotions directly and indirectly mediated by mathematics‐related control and value appraisals. Data were gathered from 1106 Chinese secondary school students, all of whom were between the ages of 11 and 16 years old. Corroborating the CVT, results indicated that mathematics PsyCap was positively correlated with mathematics enjoyment and achievement and negatively associated with mathematics boredom. The mediating effects of control and value appraisals were also confirmed in the relationships between mathematics PsyCap and achievement emotions (i.e., enjoyment, boredom, and anxiety), as well as between mathematics PsyCap and mathematical achievement. These findings enhance the current knowledge supporting the CVT and provide further insights into the linkage between PsyCap and achievement emotions in Chinese adolescents’ mathematics education.

This study seeks to development and validate the Digital Literacy Scale (DLS) tailored for English teachers in Chinese universities, providing a robust tool for assessing their digital literacy. Amid the ongoing digital transformation of education, faculty digital literacy has become a cornerstone for driving the digitization of higher education, enhancing the quality of teaching, and fostering a digitally empowered society. Despite its importance, existing research predominantly focuses on conceptual frameworks and theoretical analyses. Crucially, there remains a notable paucity of studies that integrate digital literacy into subject-specific contexts, such as English education, or that rigorously validate assessment tools designed specifically for English teachers in Chinese universities. To address this measurement lacuna, data were gathered from a cohort of 541 English teachers at Chinese universities (Nmale = 127; Nfemale = 414) and analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to evaluate the proposed measurement model. The CFA results demonstrate that the DLS exhibits robust psychometric properties. Additionally, the average digital literacy score among English teachers at Chinese universities was 4.79 (SD = .73), indicating a relatively high level of digital proficiency within this cohort. This study further discusses the implications of utilizing the DLS as a reliable tool for assessing digital literacy in this academic context.

The control-value theory (CVT) of achievement emotions posits that achievement emotions are significantly associated with the key indicators of academic outcomes, including academic motivation, engagement, and performance. Existing studies have tested the theoretical hypothesis of the CVT in a variety of cultures, disciplines, and samples. However, evidence is limited for whether there are gender and grade differences in achievement emotions, especially in the context of English as a Foreign Language (EFL). 1,460 Chinese secondary school students (male N = 671; female N = 789; seventh-graders N = 731; eighth-graders N = 729) took part in the study. Confirmatory factor analyses and multi-group analyses were conducted to explore the possible gender and grade differences in EFL-related achievement emotions. Results indicated that there are gender or grade differences in EFL-related enjoyment, anxiety, and boredom, while hope and pride did not. Both limitations and implications are discussed.

Academic anxiety is one of the prominent emotions in learning English as a foreign language (EFL), and its impact on foreign language proficiency (FLP) has been extensively documented. However, the mediating effect of cognitive strategies between foreign language anxiety (FLA) and FLP has rarely been explored. In a sample of 524 Chinese secondary school students, the study investigated the linkage between FLA, organizational strategies, and FLP. Structural equation modeling (SEM) and mediation analysis were conducted, and three findings were identified. First, FLA was negatively correlated with the use of organizational strategies. Second, the negative correlation between FLA and FLP was identified. Third, organizational strategies fully mediated the association between FLA and FLP after controlling for gender and age. Exploring the mediating mechanism between FLA and FLP might help EFL educators take intervention measures to alleviate the negative impact of FLA on foreign language learning. Limitations and directions for future research are discussed.

Psychological Capital (PsyCap) has received much attention in industrial-organizational research because it is linked to a broad spectrum of adaptive work-related outcomes. However, few studies have been conducted on PsyCap in non-Western school contexts, especially in the ethnic minority areas of Mainland China. The present study aims to validate the school PsyCap scale, examine the latent mean differences of school PsyCap across Dai and Han groups, and verify the correlation between school PsyCap and academic engagement, achievement emotions, and academic achievement in a sample of 769 Chinese school children (Han students = 249, Dai students = 520) in the seventh and eighth grades. Results demonstrated that the Chinese version of the school PsyCap scale had excellent psychometric properties. Besides, there were no significant differences in the mean level of school PsyCap between the two cultural groups of Chinese Dai and Han. However, the multi-group second-order CFA model showed that the mean level of Dai students’ resilience was lower than that of Chinese Han. The findings also showed that school PsyCap has positive predictive effects on optimal academic outcomes (i.e., academic engagement, enjoyment, and academic achievement) but negatively affect boredom. This study enriches the understanding of school PsyCap from a cross-cultural perspective. Both theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

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. Article visualizations: </p

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. Article visualizations: </p

Perceived teacher support, the primary social support that students receive in classroom settings, is positively associated with students’ academic achievement. However, limited studies have explored whether academic enjoyment and self-concept mediated the relationship between perceived teacher support and academic achievement in the learning English as a foreign language (EFL) context in China. The aim of the present study was to investigate the chain-mediating role of academic enjoyment and self-concept in the association between perceived teacher support and EFL achievement. Survey data were gathered from a cross-sectional study of secondary EFL learners in Guangdong Province, China (N =517). Results demonstrated that perceived teacher support was positively correlated with EFL achievement. Moreover, academic self-concept and the chain mediating effects of academic enjoyment and behavioral engagement mediated the relationship between perceived teacher support and EFL achievement. Implications, limitations, and suggestions for future research are discussed.