Exploring the mediating effect of creativity on the relationship between family capital and academic achievement in geography

Abstract

Abstract This study examined the relationship between family capital (FC) and academic achievement in geography along with the mediating role of creativity. The main objective was to determine if FC is a positive predictor of creativity and geographic achievement, and whether creativity completely or partially mediates the relationship between FC and geographic achievement. 1268 high school students participated in this study using the Family Capital Questionnaire (FCQ), the Innovative Behavior Scale (IBS), and students’ class geography scores. SPSS 26 and Amos software were used to analyze the descriptive statistics and the correlation between the main variables. The mediating role of creativity was tested using PROCESS version 4. The correlation analyses showed that FC positively affected academic achievement in geography (β = 0.382, SE = 0.019). Creativity also demonstrated a positive effect on geography academic achievement (β = 0.376, SE = 0.022). The mediation analysis showed that creativity mediated and buffered the relationship between FC and academic achievement in geography. Thus, FC directly affected students’ academic achievement in geography and indirectly affected their creativity. This clearly demonstrates that student characteristics and the external environment should be emphasized in geography education, while placing a strong focus on cultivating individual creativity.