Revealing associations between students' school-related well-being, achievement goals, and academic achievement

The role of student well-being for academic outcomes is increasingly gaining attention. However, studies on the relationship between well-being and achievement are inconclusive, and evidence regarding associations between well-being and motives for achievement related behavior is scarce. The present study therefore investigates relations between students' school-related well-being, achievement goals and academic achievement, applying multidimensional measures to examine relations between sub-facets. We assumed achievement goals to mediate the relation between well-being and achievement. Data were collected from 1484 Austrian secondary school students. Whereas the mediation assumption was rejected, several effects of the school-related well-being components on achievement goals and academic achievement were identified, including associations of engagement, perseverance, and optimism in school with mastery goals, and optimism and perseverance in school with academic achievement. The study thus contributes to differentiating the evidence regarding the investigated constructs and supports the approach to apply multidimensional measures for both well-being and achievement goals.

Automated summary

The role of student well-being in academic outcomes is gaining attention, but there is inconclusive evidence on the relationship between well-being and achievement, as well as the association between well-being and motives for achievement-related behavior. This study investigates the relations between students' school-related well-being, achievement goals, and academic achievement, using multidimensional measures to examine the sub-facets. While the mediation assumption was rejected, the study identified several effects of school-related well-being components on achievement goals and academic achievement, supporting the use of multidimensional measures for both well-being and achievement goals.