The Mediating Role of Academic Hope in the Correlation of Ambiguity Tolerance and Academic Flourishing with Academic Engagement in Female High School Students

Students with academic flourishing can deal with stressful situations with a positive and optimistic view. The present study aimed to investigate the mediating role of academic hope in the association of ambiguity tolerance and academic flourishing with academic engagement in students. This research was a descriptive correlational study using structural equation modeling. The research population comprised female senior high school students of Ahvaz in the school year of 2020-21. Herein, we recruited 216 female senior high school students selected through random cluster sampling. Data were collected with the Schoolwork Engagement Inventory, the Ambiguity Tolerance Scale, the Academic Flourishing Questionnaire, and the Academic Hope Scale questionnaires. The proposed model was analyzed using the path analysis method. The results indicated a correlation between academic engagement and tolerance of ambiguity (r=0.41), academic flourishing (r=0.47), and academic hope (r=0.48). Moreover, there was a correlation between tolerance of ambiguity and academic flourishing (r=0.51) and academic hope (r=0.48). According to the results, the association of academic flourishing with academic engagement and academic hope was significant in the students (P<0.001). There was also a close association between tolerance of ambiguity and academic hope in the students (P<0.001). Additionally, the association between academic hope and academic engagement was significant in the subjects (P<0.001). Academic hope had a mediating role in the association between tolerance of ambiguity and the academic engagement of the female students (P<0.001). The indirect path of academic flourishing to academic engagement was significant with the mediating role of academic hope (P=0.003). The results indicated that the proposed model is of the desired fitting. It is a great step toward understanding the factors associated with students’ academic engagement and achievement. Furthermore, it is an appropriate model, through the use of which various programs can be developed and designed to prevent academic failure and demotivation in students.