Relationships Between Achievement Goal Orientations, Learning Engagement, and Academic Adjustment in Freshmen: Variable-Centered and Person-Centered Approaches

Abstract

Academic adjustment is a principal determining factor of undergraduate students’ academic achievement and success. However, studies pay little attention to freshmen’s antecedent variables of academic adjustment. This study aimed to examine the mechanisms underlying the relationship between achievement goal orientations and academic adjustment in freshmen using variable- and person-centered approaches. A sample of 578 freshmen (aged 18.29±1.04years, 58.5% female) completed questionnaires on achievement goal orientations, learning engagement, and academic adjustment. Latent profile analysis of achievement goal orientations revealed four groups: low-motivation (11.1%), approach-oriented (9.5%), average (52.8%), and multiple (26.6%). In the mediating analysis, results of the variable-centered approach showed that learning engagement mediated the effects of the mastery-approach and performance-avoidance goals on academic adjustment. For the person-centered approach, we selected the average type as the reference profile, and the analysis revealed that compared with the reference profile, learning engagement partially mediated the link between the approach-oriented profile and academic adjustment. The current study highlights the important role that achievement goal orientations and learning engagement play in academic adjustment. We discuss the implications and limitations of the findings.

Emotion regulation, academic buoyancy, and academic adjustment of university students within a self-determination theory framework: A systematic review

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Self-regulated learning, online mathematics learning engagement, and perceived academic control among Chinese junior high school students during the COVID-19 pandemic: A latent profile analysis and mediation analysis

“…To date, most studies investigating the relationship between self-regulated learning and learning engagement in online learning environments have employed a variable-centered approach, which does not account for potential variability and differences in variables between individuals ( Wang et al, 2021 ). Instead, as a person-centered analysis technique, the latent profile analysis (LPA) groups individuals into latent classes or profiles or subgroups according to the correlations on self-regulated learning ( Luo et al, 2021 ).…”

Relationship of Organizational Support, Psychological Capital, and Engagement Among Clinical Nursing Teachers

“…Clinical nursing teachers' engagement is important to ensure teaching quality. This study found a medium level of engagement among clinical nursing teachers, higher than Jordanian nurses,28 and lower than Chinese and Portuguese nurses9,29 and Chinese university teachers 30. To be more specific, dedication domain scored the highest and absorption domain scored the lowest.…”

“…This study found a medium level of engagement among clinical nursing teachers, higher than Jordanian nurses, 28 and lower than Chinese and Portuguese nurses 9,29 and Chinese university teachers. 30 To be more specific, dedication domain scored the highest and absorption domain scored the lowest. As a whole, our results indicated that clinical teachers' engagement still had much room to improve.…”