Presenting a Model of Academic Achievement Based on Academic Self-efficacy and Metacognitive Beliefs With Respect to the Mediating Variable of Coronavirus Anxiety Among Senior Boys and Girls High-School Students

The induction of knowledge, abilities, and academic skills among individuals is formed through learning and academic achievement. Various studies have shown that academic self–efficacy is directly associated with academic achievement. It is believed that metacognitive skills play an essential role in various cognitive functions. Thus, a lack of awareness of cognitive and metacognitive strategies is undoubtedly an obstacle to students' academic achievement. Studies have also shown that the coronavirus pandemic has negatively affected students' academic performance, and the resulting anxiety has caused feelings of disability in various areas of life, including work and education. Therefore, this study aimed to present a model of academic achievement based on academic self–efficacy and metacognitive beliefs via the mediating variable of coronavirus anxiety among high school students in Kermanshah City, Iran.

The present study was descriptive correlational. The statistical population comprised all girls and boys senior students in high schools in Kermanshah studying from August 23, 2021, to March 20, 2022. They were under virtual education. Of whom 379 were selected by the available sampling. The inclusion criteria were as follows: being 15–18 years old, not engaging in non–academic activities, attending the virtual education system due to the spread of the coronavirus, and being willing to participate in research. The study data were collected via Metacognition Questionnaire (Wells & Cartwright–Hatton, 2004), Academic Self–efficacy Scale (Jinks & Morgan, 1999), Academic Performance Questionnaire (Salehi, 2013), and Corona Disease Anxiety Scale (Alipour et al. 2019). The collected data were analyzed using the Pearson correlation coefficient and structural equation modeling in SPSS version 24 and AMOS version 24. A significance level of 0.05 was considered for all tests.

We found the correlations of academic success with corona anxiety (p<0.05, r=–0.224), metacognitive beliefs (p<0.05, r=0.112), and academic self–efficacy (p<0.05, r=0.156). Also, the correlations of corona anxiety were found as follows with metacognitive beliefs (p<0.05, r=–0.136) and academic self–efficacy (p<0.05, r=–0.188). Path coefficients of metacognitive beliefs to corona anxiety (p=0.021, β=–0.281), academic self–efficacy to corona anxiety (p=0.008, β=–0.393), and corona anxiety to academic success (p=0.033, β=–0.226) were significant. The indirect path of metacognitive beliefs to academic success according to the mediating variable of coronavirus anxiety (p=0.040, β=0.013) and the path of academic self–efficacy to academic success via the mediating variable of corona anxiety (p=0.023, β=0.032) were positive and significant. The fit indices showed that the hypothesized model fit well with the data (CFI=1.0, GFI=0.989, AGFI=0.982, RMSEA=0.001).

Based on the findings, people with higher academic self–efficacy can better adapt to the coronavirus epidemic's challenges. This adaptation leads to more success in academic performance than those with higher anxiety. Therefore, coronavirus anxiety can play a mediating role in the relationship between academic self–efficacy and academic achievement.