How Classroom Environment Influences Academic Enjoyment in Mathematics Among Chinese Middle School Students: Moderated Mediation Effect of Academic Self-Concept and Academic Achievement

Abstract

Purpose

Substantial literature has documented the influence of classroom environment on academic enjoyment. However, little is known about the mediating and moderating mechanisms underlying this relationship. Based on the control-value theory and the individual-context interaction model, a moderated mediation model was constructed in this study to further examine whether academic self-concept mediated the relation between classroom environment and enjoyment in mathematics and whether this mediating effect was moderated by academic achievement.

Methods

We recruited 750 Chinese middle school students and they completed the classroom environment, academic self-concept, and academic enjoyment questionnaires.

Results

After controlling for gender and grade, the results of structural equation modeling showed that academic self-concept partially mediated the association between classroom environment and enjoyment in mathematics. The mediating path from classroom environment to academic self-concept was moderated by academic achievement. Classroom environment positively predicted academic self-concept for the higher achieving students. However, the effect of classroom environment on academic self-concept was not significant for the lower achieving students.

Conclusion

These findings highlight that classroom environment has a more salient impact on academic self-concept and enjoyment for higher achieving students than for lower achieving students. The study results provide guidelines for educators regarding effective interventions for fostering positive academic emotions.

Keywords:

• academic enjoyment
• classroom environment
• academic self-concept
• academic achievement

Acknowledgment

Ying Liu and Yu Wang contributed equally to this manuscript and share the first authorship.

Compliance with Ethical Standards

This study closely followed all ethical standards established by Institutional Review Board at the authors’ universities and the participating schools.

Disclosure

The authors declare no conflicts of interest in this work.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by the Hebei Normal University 2017 Humanities and Social Sciences Research Fund (S2017B17) and the Project of Basic Education Development Research Center of Hebei Normal University (JJZX2020Y10).