Comparison of academic buoyancy, family’s emotional climate, and academic motivation between excellent and average students

One of the most important concerns in school psychology is understanding how students strive for academic success.

The present study aimed to compare the family’s emotional climate, academic motivation, and academic buoyancy between excellent and average students.

In this causal-comparative research, the statistical population consisted of male students in the first year of middle school in districts 5, 18, and 22 of Tehran, Iran, during the academic year 2021-2022. A multistage cluster sampling method was used to recruit 300 students (n=150 per group) from these districts. Data were collected using the Family Emotional Climate Questionnaire by Hill (1964), Harter's Academic Motivation Scale (1980), and Martin and Marsh's (2008) Academic Buoyancy Scale. The collected data were analyzed using Chi-square test, regression analysis, and independent t-test in SPSS-21.

The results indicated a significant difference between the two groups in terms of the family’s emotional climate and its components, including love (P<0.001), caressing (P<0.002), approval (P<0.003), shared experiences (P<0.003), gift-giving (P<0.002), encouragement (P<0.001), trust (P<0.001), and sense of security (P<0.002). Additionally, there were significant differences between the two groups regarding the variables of academic motivation (P<0.001) and academic buoyancy (P<0.001), with the mean scores of excellent students being higher than those of the average group.

In the group of excellent students, the family’s emotional climate, academic motivation, and academic buoyancy were higher than those of the average group. Therefore; strengthening the relationship between family members and students, besides implementing skill development programs that focus on enhancing academic motivation and buoyancy in school education, can have a significant impact on the academic success of students.