Mediating Effect of Positive Psychological Capital on the Relationship between Online Learning Engagement and Self-Directed Learning Ability among Medical Students
Objective:To explore the mediating effect of positive psychological capital on the relationship between online learning engagement and self-directed learning ability among medical students in private colleges.Methods:A questionnaire survey was conducted on a cluster sample of students enrolled in online learning at a private medical college in Tianjin.A total of 483 valid questionnaires were collected.Pearson correlation analysis was used to investigate the relationships among positive psychological capital,learning engagement,and self-directed learning ability,and a structural equation model(SEM)was fitted.Results:The total scores and dimension scores of learning engagement among medical students were positively correlated with scores of positive psychological capital and self-directed learning ability(r=0.253-0.824,P<0.01).The SEM results showed that the path coefficients of positive psychological capital and self-directed learning ability on learning engagement were β=0.844 and β=0.426,respectively(P<0.01).Bootstrap tests indicated that positive psychological capital partially mediated the relationship between self-directed learning ability and learning engagement(P<0.01).Conclusion:Self-directed learning ability and positive psychological capital positively predict online learning engagement among medical students in private colleges,and self-directed learning ability influences learning engagement through the mediating effect of positive psychological capital.