AI Insight
This cross-sectional study of 679 dental students from two Chinese universities examined how achievement goals relate to academic performance, with learning engagement as a potential mediating factor. Results showed that mastery-approach goals had the strongest positive association with scholastic achievement, while learning engagement mediated the relationship between three types of achievement goals (mastery-approach, performance-avoidance, and mastery-avoidance) and academic outcomes. Performance-approach goals showed a direct relationship with achievement that was not mediated by learning engagement.
Why it matters
The findings suggest that dental educators can improve student academic performance by fostering appropriate achievement goals, particularly mastery-approach orientations, and by enhancing student engagement in learning activities. This has practical implications for curriculum design and teaching strategies in dental education programs.
Understand the Science
BackgroundScholastic achievement during college is important for the professional careers of dental students. Previous studies have reported that learning engagement may be the mediator between achievement goals and scholastic achievement. This study aims to examine whether learning engagement mediated the relationship between achievement goals and scholastic achievement.MethodsThis study included dental students from two universities in China. This was a quantitative, cross-sectional study. The students were invited to complete an online questionnaire. A total of 679 students participated in the study. The questionnaire consisted of four main parts: demographic characteristics, an achievement goals scale, a learning engagement scale, and a scholastic achievement scale. We conducted a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and correlation analysis using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) 26.0 software. Mplus 8.3 was used to examine the potential mediating effect of learning engagement in a structural equation model.ResultsFindings demonstrated that the associations between achievement goals and the scholastic achievement of dental students were as follows: performance-approach goals (β = 0.15, p < 0.05), mastery-approach goals (β = 0.73, p 0.05), and mastery-avoidance goals (β = −0.10, p < 0.05). Learning engagement played a mediating role in the relationship between the three achievement goals (mastery-approach, performance-avoidance, and mastery-avoidance goals) and scholastic achievement. Learning engagement did not mediate the relationship between performance-approach goals and scholastic achievement.ConclusionLearning engagement mediated the relationship between achievement goals and scholastic achievement. These findings suggest that dental educators should prioritize cultivating achievement goals among students and enhancing learning engagement to improve professional outcomes.