engleski

Application of Control-value theory in the context of online learning at universities in Serbia: the mediating role of academic emotions

Control-value theory is currently the most influential theory of emotions in an educational context. Such reputation of the mentioned theory is largely due to its integrative framework for analyzing the antecedents, i.e. sources of student emotions, and their effects on learning and achievement. Current research relies on the settings of control-value theory in order to explore the relationships between the perception of academic control and metacognitive regulation strategies, with special reference to the mediating role of academic emotions. What represents a certain modification of the initial theoretical framework is the consideration of academic emotions, as well as their antecedents and effects, in the context of online learning. The research was conducted on a sample of 500 students from state and private universities in Serbia who have attended distance learning since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Three instruments were used to measure the variables of interest: 1) Academic Control Scale (ACS) which examined cognitions about perceived causal interference of one's own action on online learning activities or outcomes ; 2) Short Version of the Academic Emotions Questionnaire (S-AEQ) covering eight different academic emotions related to distance learning (enjoyment, hope, pride, anger, anxiety, shame, hopelessness, boredom) ; 3) Subscale of metacognitive self-regulation from Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) which pertains to three general processes regarding metacognitive self-regulatory activities in the context of online learning: planning, monitoring, and regulating. Academic emotions are grouped into three factors using exploratory factor analysis: frustration (α = .84 ; M = 2.58, SD = 0.93), insecurity (α = .79 ; M = 2.43, SD = 0.96) and enthusiasm (α = .80 ; M = 3.87, SD = 0.78). Using mediation analysis, it was found that the effect of academic control on metacognitive self-regulatory activities is partially mediated by emotions that reflect a high level of enthusiasm in the context of distance learning (ab path coefficients = .11 ; SE = .03 ; p < .01), while the indirect effect in the case of frustration and insecurity is registered only if the effect of enthusiasm is removed. The obtained results indicate the importance of academic emotions for self-regulation aspects of metacognition in the context of online learning. Namely, emotions that reflect enthusiasm regarding distance learning accelerate three general processes that make up metacognitive self-regulatory activities: planning, monitoring, and regulating, which is of particular importance for the final learning outcomes.

Control-value theory ; academic control ; academic emotions ; metacognitive self-regulation ; online learning

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