Association of Academic Buoyancy with School-Related Anxiety and Social Participation among Students Educated via the Educational Approaches of Mizan and Regular Schools

Abstract

Background: Academic buoyancy can be a major factor in the psychological-educational perspective and can contribute to solving students’ problems in their school life. The present study aimed to investigate the association of academic buoyancy with school-related anxiety and social participation among students educated via the educational approaches of Mizan and regular schools in Tehran, Iran. Methods: The current study was descriptive-correlational. The study population comprised of all elementary-school students in Tehran in the 2018-2019 academic year. A sample of 606 students was selected from regular and guided discovery schools (300 students from regular and 306 from Mizan guided discovery schools). The research instruments included the Academic Buoyancy Scale, the School Anxiety Scale, and School Bonding Questionnaire. Data were analyzed using the Pearson correlation coefficient and structural equation modeling was applied to predict the relationships among variables. Results: The results showed that the scores of academic buoyancy and social participation were significantly higher among students receiving guided discovery than that of those receiving traditional education (P=0.014). The scores of school-related anxiety were significantly lower among students receiving guided discovery than that of those receiving traditional education (p <0.001). According to the results, there was a negative association between school-related anxiety with school-related social participation and academic buoyancy. Moreover, the association between school-related social participation and academic buoyancy in the students was positive and significant (p <0.001). Conclusions: The study findings further highlighted the significance of considering academic buoyancy and social participation in school-related anxiety. It is considered a crucial step in understanding the factors affecting school-related anxiety in students.

Keywords

• anxiety
• social participation
• schools
• self-concept
• students