THE IMPACT OF EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE, PROFESSIONAL COMMITMENT, AND TEACHER SUPPORT ON STUDENT ENGAGEMENT AMONG UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS MAJORING IN THAI LANGUAGE IN YUNNAN, CHINA: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF ACADEMIC EMOTIONS
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
Yunnan, China’s gateway to Thailand, fuels intense trade and demand for Thai language specialists. Every public university now trains Thai language specialists, whose quality shapes China-Thai cooperation and serves as a soft-power benchmark, making student engagement a critical outcome to explain. Clarifying the determinants of student engagement is therefore critical. Grounded in self-determination and control–value theories, this study surveyed 924 Thai-major undergraduates across public universities in Yunnan. Structural analyses revealed that emotional intelligence, professional commitment, and teacher support predict student engagement directly and exert additional indirect effects through academic emotions. Academic emotions functioned as a pivotal mechanism that both mediates and moderates the influence of individual and contextual factors on student engagement. The findings support a synergistic “student–teacher–institution” framework for cultivating high-quality foreign language talent.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
References
Appleton, J. J., Christenson, S. L., Kim, D., & Reschly, A. L. (2006). Measuring cognitive and psychological engagement: Validation of the Student Engagement Instrument. Journal of School Psychology, 44(5), 427–445. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2006.04.002
Arbuckle, J. L. (1999). AMOS for Windows Analysis of Moment Structures. Chicago, SmallWaters Corp.
Astin, A. W. (1985). Involvement the Cornerstone of Excellence. Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning, 17(4), 35–39. https://doi.org/10.1080/0009 1383.1985.9940532
Bentler, P. M. (1990). Comparative fit indexes in structural models. Psychological Bulletin, 107(2), 238–246.
Brewster, A. B., & Bowen, G. L. (2004). Teacher Support and the School Engagement of Latino Middle and High School Students at Risk of School Failure. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 21(1), 47–67. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:CASW.0000012348.83939.6b
Cai, W. B., & Wang, L. (2017). A Study on the Correlation Between College Students' Learning Engagement, Major Commitment, and Learning Strategies. Journal of Guangxi Normal University (Philosophy and Social Sciences Edition), 53(1),103–109.https://doi.org/10.16088/j.issn.1001-6597.2017.01.017
Chai, X. Y., & Gong, S. Y. (2013). Development of a Questionnaire on Perceived Mathematics Teacher Support Among Middle School Students. Research in Psychology and Behavior, 11(4), 511–517.
Cherniss, C., Extein, M., Goleman, D., & Weissberg, R. P. (2006). Emotional Intelligence: What Does the Research Really Indicate? Educational Psychologist, 41(4), 239–245. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15326985ep4104_4
Costello, B. J., & Laub, J. H. (2020). Social Control Theory: The Legacy of Travis Hirschi’s Causes of Delinquency. Annual Review of Criminology, 3(1), 21–41. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-criminol-011419-041527
Dong, Y., & Yu, G. (2007). Development and Application of the Adolescents' Academic Emotions Questionnaire. Acta Psychologica Sinica, 39(5), 852–860.
Fornell, C., & Larcker, D. F. (1981). Evaluating Structural Equation Models with Unobservable Variables and Measurement Error. Journal of Marketing Research, 18(1), 39–50. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224378101800104
Fredricks, J. A., Blumenfeld, P. C., & Paris, A. H. (2004). School Engagement: Potential of the Concept, State of the Evidence. Review of Educational Research, 74(1), 59–109. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543074001059
Gao, F. (2022). The Relationship Between Emotional Intelligence and Life Satisfaction Among College Students: The Mediating Effect of Sense of Security and the Moderating Effect of Self-Esteem. Chinese Journal of Health Psychology, 30(1), 96–101. https://doi.org/10.13342/j.cnki.cjhp. 2022.01.020
Hair, J. F. (2011). Multivariate Data Analysis: An Overview. In International Encyclopedia of Statistical Science (pp. 904–907). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-04898-2_395
Hair, J. F., Sarstedt, M., Ringle, C. M., & Mena, J. A. (2012). An assessment of the use of partial least squares structural equation modeling in marketing research. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 40(3), 414–433. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-011-0261-6
Hu, L., & and Bentler, P. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 6(1), 1–55. https: //doi.org/10.1080/10705519909540118
Kadir, M. S., & Yeung, A. S. (2020). Academic Self-Concept. In V. Zeigler-Hill & T. K. Shackelford (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences (pp. 9–16). Springer International Publishing.https://doi.org/ 10.1007/978-3-319-24612-3_1118
Kong, Y. Y. (2016). A study on the relationship between major commitment, emotional intelligence, perceived social support, and learning engagement of college students in Qinghai Province [Master's thesis, Qinghai Normal University].
Lam, S., Jimerson, S., Wong, B. P. H., Kikas, E., Shin, H., Veiga, F. H., Hatzichristou, C., Polychroni, F., Cefai, C., Negovan, V., Stanculescu, E., Yang, H., Liu, Y., Basnett, J., Duck, R., Farrell, P., Nelson, B., & Zollneritsch, J. (2014). Understanding and measuring student engagement in school: The results of an international study from 12 countries. School Psychology Quarterly, 29(2), 213–232. https://doi.org/10.1037/spq0000057
Li, W., & Bai, Y. Y. (2018). How Does Perceived Teacher Support Affect Academic Achievement Among Grade 8 Students? A Multiple Mediation Analysis Based on Academic Self-Efficacy and Learning Engagement. Education and Economy, 6, 86–92.
Lian, R., Yang, L. X., & Wu, L. H. (2005). The Relationship Between Professional Commitment and Learning Burnout of Undergraduates and Scales Developing. Acta Psychologica Sinica, 37(5), 632–636.
Ma, H. X., & Zhang, Z. M. (2010). Theoretical Framework for the Development of a Comprehensive Questionnaire on Academic Emotions for College Students. Chinese Journal of Clinical Psychology, 18(1), 34–36. ^10.16128/ j.cnki.1005-3611.2010.01.006^
Malik, Y. R., Sheikh, M. S., Yousaf, S., Malik, Y. R., Sheikh, M. S., & Yousaf, S. (2022). Probability and Sampling in Dentistry. In Clinical Concepts and Practical Management Techniques in Dentistry. IntechOpen. https://doi.org/10. 5772/intechopen.97705
Mayer, J. D., Salovey, P., Caruso, D. R., & Sitarenios, G. (2001). Emotional intelligence as a standard intelligence. Emotion, 1(3), 232–242. https://doi. org/10.1037/1528-3542.1.3.232
McDonald, R. P., & Ho, M.-H. R. (2002). Principles and practice in reporting structural equation analyses. Psychological Methods, 7(1), 64–82. https://doi.org/10.1037/1082-989X.7.1.64
Newmann, F. M. (Ed.). (1992). Student engagement and achievement in American secondary schools. Teachers College Press.
Niemiec, C. P., & Ryan, R. M. (2009). Autonomy, competence, and relatedness in the classroom: Applying self-determination theory to educational practice. Theory and Research in Education, 7(2), 133–144. https://doi.org/ 10.1177/1477878509104318
Pekrun, R. (2000). A social-cognitive, control-value theory of achievement emotions. In Motivational psychology of human development: Developing motivation and motivating development (pp. 143–163). Elsevier Science. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0166-4115(00)80010-2
Pekrun, R. (2006). The Control-Value Theory of Achievement Emotions: Assumptions, Corollaries, and Implications for Educational Research and Practice. Educational Psychology Review, 18(4), 315–341. https://doi.org/ 10.1007/s10648-006-9029-9
Pekrun, R., & Stephens, E. J. (2010). Achievement Emotions: A Control-Value Approach. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 4(4), 238–255. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-9004.2010.00259.x
Pekrun, R., Goetz, T., Titz, W., & Perry, R. P. (2002). Academic Emotions in Students’ Self-Regulated Learning and Achievement: A Program of Qualitative and Quantitative Research. Educational Psychologist, 37(2), 91–105. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15326985EP3702_4
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2017). Self-Determination Theory: Basic Psychological Needs in Motivation, Development, and Wellness. Guilford Publications.
Sadoughi, M., & Hejazi, S. Y. (2021). Teacher support and academic engagement among EFL learners: The role of positive academic emotions. Studies in Educational Evaluation, 70, 101060. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stueduc. 2021.101060
Sakiz, G. (2007). Does teacher affective support matter? An investigation of the relationship among perceived teacher affective support, sense of belonging, academic emotions, academic self-efficacy beliefs, and academic effort in middle school mathematics classrooms [The Ohio StateUniversity].https://etd.ohiolink.edu/acprod/odb_etd/etd/r/1501/10?clear=10&p10_accession_num=osu1179794983
Sakiz, G., Pape, S. J., & Hoy, A. W. (2012). Does perceived teacher affective support matter for middle school students in mathematics classrooms? Journal of School Psychology, 50(2), 235–255. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp. 2011.10.005
Schaufeli, W. B., Salanova, M., González-romá, V., & Bakker, A. B. (2002). The Measurement of Engagement and Burnout: A Two Sample Confirmatory Factor Analytic Approach. Journal of Happiness Studies, 3(1), 71–92. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1015630930326
Shao, K., Yu, W., & Ji, Z. (2013). An exploration of Chinese EFL students’ emotional intelligence and foreign language anxiety. The Modern Language Journal, 97(4), 917–929. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.2013.12042.x
Sica, C., & Ghisi, M. (2007). The Italian versions of the Beck Anxiety Inventory and the Beck Depression Inventory-II: Psychometric properties and discriminant power. In Leading-edge psychological tests and testing research (pp. 27–50). Nova Science Publishers.
Skinner, E. A., & Belmont, M. J. (1993). Motivation in the classroom: Reciprocal effects of teacher behavior and student engagement across the school year. Journal of Educational Psychology, 85(4), 571–581. https://doi.org/ 10.1037/0022-0663.85.4.571
Skinner, E., Furrer, C., Marchand, G., & Kindermann, T. (2008). Engagement and disaffection in the classroom: Part of a larger motivational dynamic? Journal of Educational Psychology, 100(4), 765–781. https://doi.org/ 10.1037/a0012840
Stornes, T., Bru, E., & Idsoe, T. (2008). Classroom Social Structure and Motivational Climates: On the influence of teachers’ involvement, teachers’ autonomy support and regulation in relation to motivational climates in school classrooms. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 52(3), 315–329.https://doi.org/10.1080/00313830802025124
Wang Caikang. (2002). “A Study on the Relationship between Emotional Intelligence and Anxiety, Depression, and Mood among College Students.” Chinese Journal of Clinical Psychology, 4, 298–299.
Wang, F., Chen, H., & Yang, W. X. (2017). The Impact of School Climate on College Students' Learning Engagement: The Mediating Role of Emotional Intelligence. Chinese Journal of Health Psychology, 25(1), 101–105. https://doi.org/10.13342/j.cnki.cjhp.2017.01.025
Wang, H., Peng, A., & Patterson, M. M. (2021). The roles of class social climate, language mindset, and emotions in predicting willingness to communicate in a foreign language. System, 99, 102529. https://doi.org/10.1016/ j.system.2021.102529
Wang, Y. S. (2015). Design and Validation of the College Student Learning Engagement Survey Questionnaire in China—Based on Data Analysis from the “National College Student Learning Situation Survey.” Journal of Hebei University of Science and Technology (Social Science Edition), 15(3), 101–106.
Whittaker, T. A., & Schumacker, R. E. (2022). A Beginner’s Guide to Structural Equation Modeling (5thed.).Routledge.https://doi.org/10.4324/97810030 44017
Williams, G. C., & Deci, E. L. (1996). Internalization of biopsychosocial values by medical students: A test of self-determination theory. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70(4), 767–779. https://doi.org/10.1037 /0022-3514.70.4.767
Wu, L. H., & Lian, R. (2005). A Study on Major Commitment and Learning Styles of Contemporary College Students. Psychological Science, 4, 872–876. https://doi.org/10.16719/j.cnki.1671-6981.2005.04.026
Xia, D. S. (2024). Rethinking foreign language education reform in the new era. Journal of Northwestern Polytechnical University (Social Sciences Edition), 1–8.
Xu Hailan & Zhan Huifang. (2024). The Connotation and Path of Training Composite Applied Foreign Language Talents under the Background of New Liberal Arts. Science and Education Journal, 21, 44–46. https:// doi.org/10.16400/j.cnki.kjdk.2024.21.014
Xu, C. Y. (2014). A study on the impact mechanism of college students' major commitment on learning engagement and learning outcomes [Doctoral dissertation, Hebei University of Technology].
