Academic Press and Student Engagement: Can Academic Psychological Capital Intervene? Test of a Mediated Model on Business Graduates

Abstract

Psychological wellbeing has gained much prominence over the recent years. Parallel to organizational domains, empirical attention is also being paid across the academics as well. The present study attempted to examine the much important role and relationship between academic press and student engagement and to what length academic psychological capital can potentially mediate in the relationship. A total of 371 undergraduate students were sampled for the present study from a private university in Bahrain. Through using structural equation modelling using Smart PLS 3 the results of the mediated model reported significant relationship between academic press and academic psychological capital (i-e academic efficacy and resilience). Though the study did not find any support for academic press and student engagement relationship, nonetheless, found a significant mediation of academic psychological capital in the relationship between academic press and student engagement. The findings have suggested that students’ perceptions about how much their teacher presses them to do thoughtful work, facilitation in explaining and motivating for full efforts can act as a key ingredient for nurturing students` connectivity with the studies in general and views about their own learning. Accordingly, the study has also underlined that students with positive academic press from their teachers tend to be higher in engagement due to enhanced efficacy and resilience. The present study has attempted to address a major research gap with acute empirical findings for academicians to enhance their students` wellbeing.