Role of Student Well-Being: A Study Using Structural Equation Modeling

Abstract

The present study explored the effects of academic and social self-efficacy beliefs on students' well-being at school, academic engagement, and achievement outcome. Well-being at school is conceptualized as a central mediator of students' engagement and learning in achievement contexts. It was hypothesized that well-being at school would mediate the effects of social and academic self-efficacy beliefs on engagement and achievement outcome. This research focus has credence and may provide grounding for educational-social interventions. A cohort of 284 (122 girls, 162 boys) Year 11 secondary school students participated in this correlational study. A theoretical-conceptual model was explored and tested using structural equation modeling. Subsequent structural equation modeling analyses provided moderate support for the hypothesized model. The results showed that both academic and social self-efficacy depended on each other in their effect on well-being at school. Both academic engagement and well-being at school served as partial mediators of the effects of academic and social self-efficacy on academic engagement.