A Model of Relationship between Achievement Goals and Motivational Beliefs with Educational Procrastination: The Mediating Role of Self-Regulated Learning Strategies

The purpose of this study was to model the relationship between achievement goals, components of motivational beliefs (self-efficacy, intrinsic evaluation, and test anxiety) and academic procrastination by mediating self-regulated learning strategies among graduate students. In the present correlational study, 382 postgraduate students at the Research Sciences University responded to Solomon and Ruth Bloom's academic procrastination questionnaire, Middleton and Miguel's (2000) Achievement Questionnaire, and Pinterich and Digrovit's MSLQ (1990) motivational beliefs. In this study, in order to test the structural relationships in the given model, the statistical method of modeling structural equations of partial least squares was used with Smart PLS software. After data analysis, the results indicated that all fit indices were fitted to the collected data. Moreover, the results showed that the direct effect of self-efficacy, mastery goals, and internal evaluation on academic procrastination was negative and significant; whereas the direct effect of avoidance, tendency and test anxiety on academic procrastination was positive and significant. In addition, the direct effect of motivational beliefs and achievement goals on self-regulated learning strategies, and also the effect of self-regulated learning strategies on academic procrastination were significant. The indirect effect of motivational beliefs and mastery goals on academic procrastination through self-regulation learning strategies was significant; although, the indirect effect of tendency and avoidance goals on procrastination mediated self-regulation strategies was not significant. As a result, the outcomes of this study showed that cognitive and motivational factors play an important role in predicting academic procrastination, therefore, appropriate strategies can be provided to reduce procrastination with regard to these factors.