Academic Well-Being in Students with Physical-Motor Disabilities: Examining the Mediating Role of School Belonging, Self-Compassion, and Academic Self-Efficacy

Paying attention to well-being in educational contexts is essential in evaluating educational systems’ health and dynamics. This research investigated the mediating role of academic self-efficacy in the correlation between school belonging and self-compassion in students with physical-motor disabilities. This correlational study employed structural equation modeling as the analytical approach. The statistical population for this study comprised all 12-18-year-old students with physical-motor disabilities in Ahvaz, Iran in 2022. The convenience sampling method was employed to select 282 students with physical-motor disabilities as participants. To collect data, the Academic Well-Being Questionnaire (AWQ), Sense of School Belonging Questionnaire, Self-Compassion Questionnaire-Long Form (SCS-LF), and Students’ Academic Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (SASEQ) were used. The proposed model was evaluated using structural equation modeling in SPSS version 27 and AMOS version 24. The mean and standard deviation of academic well-being, school belonging, self-compassion, and academic self-efficacy were 120.79±23.62, 66.48±19.46, 75.45±20.33, and 98.46±42.53, respectively. The findings revealed significant correlations between academic well-being and all direct paths except school belonging (P=0.001). Furthermore, the indirect paths of school belonging and self-compassion exhibited significant associations with academic well-being, mediated through the role of academic self-efficacy (P=0.001). Moreover, the model fit criteria, including comparative fit index (CFI) and root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA), were 0.98 and 0.04, respectively. Based on the results, the modified and final model of the study demonstrated a strong fit with the data. This model serves to identify practical factors contributing to the academic well-being of adolescents with physical-motor disabilities. Holding educational workshops to enhance school belonging and self-compassion in these students can improve their academic self-efficacy and overall well-being.