The relationship between chemistry achievement emotions and chemistry achievement: a moderated mediation model

Abstract

Chemistry, an introductory course of STEM courses and a critical subject in China's curriculum standards, plays a pivotal role in students' lifelong learning and development. This study explored the relationship between chemistry achievement emotions and chemistry achievement, examining the roles of chemistry self-efficacy and gender within that. The present research used the chemistry achievement emotions scale and the chemistry self-efficacy scale to assess the corresponding characteristics of 512 chemistry elective students from three senior high schools. The results showed that: (1) positive and negative emotions had significant direct effects on chemistry achievement. (2) Positive (negative) emotions positively (negatively) influenced chemistry achievement through the mediation of chemistry self-efficacy. (3) In the moderated mediation model with positive emotions as the independent variable, gender influenced the first half of the mediation pathway; however, the moderating effect of gender was not significant in the moderated mediation model with negative emotions as the independent variable. This study investigated the mechanisms by which chemistry achievement emotions affect achievement, explored the roles of self-efficacy and gender, and provided a more comprehensive insight into how emotional and psychological factors influence academic performance. This research holds important implications for designing specific interventions to improve students' emotional well-being and performance in chemistry.