The Mediating Role of Learning Emotions in Relation to Learning Approaches with Academic Engagement

Learning emotions consist of a range of ups and downs students come across in the classroom concerning the subject of study that may affect their performance in academic affairs and the correlation between learning approaches and academic engagement. The present study discussed the mediating role of learning emotions in the relationship between learning approaches and academic engagement in the academic year ۲۰۲۰/۲۰۲۱. The study used a correlation-descriptive research method and multistage cluster sampling. Participants were ۳۸۴ female upper-secondary school students according to the Cochran formula. Three types of questionnaires were used to collect data: Reeve and Tseng’s academic engagement, Miller et al.’s learning approaches, and Pekrun’s learning emotions. Data were analyzed using Structural Equation Modelling in PLS software. Our findings showed that learning emotions (both positive and negative) have a mediating role in the correlation between learning approaches (learning goals, performance goals, instrumental/future goals, perception ability, external and internal evaluation) and academic engagement (P≤۰/۰۵). Moreover, learning approaches have a significant positive correlation with academic engagement (P≤۰/۰۵). Furthermore, learning approaches have a significant positive correlation with positive learning emotions, but a significant negative correlation with negative learning emotions (P≤۰/۰۵). We can hereby deduce that positive emotions have a significant positive correlation with academic engagement (P≤۰/۰۵), whereas the correlation coefficient between negative learning emotions and academic engagement is not significant (P≥۰/۰۵). It can be concluded that academic engagement is significantly affected by learning approaches and learning emotions and positive emotions increase the effect of learning approaches on academic learning.

Keywords:

academic engagement , Learning Approaches , Learning Emotion