The purpose of this study is to examine the mediation effects of academic self-efficacy on the relationship between learning flow and achievement goal orientation in elementary school students.
For the purpose of this study, the concrete research q...
The purpose of this study is to examine the mediation effects of academic self-efficacy on the relationship between learning flow and achievement goal orientation in elementary school students.
For the purpose of this study, the concrete research questions are as follows: (1) to examine any difference in learning flow denoted by background variables such as gender and self-perceived academic level(rating). (2) to examine the correlations among achievement goal orientation, academic self-efficacy and learning flow. (3) to examine the mediation effects of academic self-efficacy on the relationship between learning flow and achievement goal orientation in elementary school students.
The Learning Flow Scale, the Achievement Goal Orientation Scale, and the Academic Self-efficacy Scale are the tools used in the course of this research for the purpose of measuring learning flow, achievement goal orientation, and academic self-efficacy. The Learning Flow Scale, developed by Suk Im-bok and Kang E-cheol in 2007, was used to measure learning flow. The Achievement Goal-orientation Scale, developed by Lee Ju-hwa and Kim Ah-young in 2005, was used to measure achievement goal orientation. The Academic Self-efficacy Scale was developed by Kim Ah-young and Park In-young in their 2001 study which also proves the reliability and validity of the scale. The Academic Self-efficacy Scale was adapted to measure academic self-efficacy.
This research targeted 318 participants of 6th grade from two elementary schools located in Daegu. Of the 318 collected questionnaires, 20 questionnaires contained irrelevant answers, and 298 questionnaires were analyzed to yield the results of this research. All collected materials were analyzed by using the SPSS 17.0 program. As a way to process the materials, descriptive statistics were drawn to show the tendencies of achievement goal orientation, academic self-efficacy and learning flow. The correlation analysis was applied in order to figure out the correlations among achievement goal orientation, academic self-efficacy and learning flow. Finally, multiple regression analysis took place to find the effect of academic self-efficacy on the relationship between achievement goal orientation and learning flow.
The summarized results of this study are as follows. First, meaningful differences(variations) were found in learning flow according to self-perceived academic level(rating). Students who rate themselves at a lower academic level have a lower (measurement of) learning flow. Likewise, students who rate themselves at a higher academic level have a higher (measurement of) learning flow. Second, according to the resulting correlations among achievement goal-orientation, academic self-efficacy and learning flow, achievement goal orientation and learning flow have a positive correlation. Academic self-efficacy and learning flow also appear to have a statistically significant correlation, while achievement goal orientation and academic self-efficacy lack a meaningful correlation.
Third, based on the result of regression analysis used to verify the mediation effect of academic self-efficacy on the relationship between achievement goal orientation and learning flow, the effects that subordinate areas of achievement goal orientation have on learning flow and it's subordinate areas were proved to mediate partially.
Therefore, it can be concluded that academic self-efficacy has an indirect effect on the elementary school students' development of learning flow.
The following are the educational implications of this research:
First, a higher self-perceived academic level is shown to yield a higher learning flow. Thus, to obtain a higher learning flow, students should feel that they can achieve their learning goal.
Second, a positive correlation exists between achievement goal orientation and learning flow and also between academic self-efficacy and learning flow. Therefore, it needs to make proper environment for achieving the higher goal, to develop academic self-efficacy programs.
Third, this research found that academic self-efficacy partially mediates the effect of achievement goal orientation on learning flow. Academic self-efficacy programs designed to be applied to the school fields(subjects) and curriculum would better improve the learning flow of elementary school students than direct learning flow programs or simple learning flow programs.
Finally, this study suggests the follow-up research after a meaningful discussion for the limitation of this study.