What Drives Student Engagement? The Role of Learning Goal Orientation, Feeling Envied, and Ethical Climate

Abstract

Students' engagement in their studies during their time at university is a fundamental building block of a high-quality learning experience. In this paper, we investigate learning goal orientation as a predictor of student engagement in the context of higher education. Moreover, we examine whether the perception of feeling envied mediates this effect and investigate the moderating effect of ethical climate in this regard. The proposed moderated mediation model was tested on a sample of 230 business students. Results reveal that learning goal orientation is positively related with study engagement and that feeling envied mediates this relationship. We also affirm the moderating role of ethical climate in the relationship between learning goal orientation and study engagement. Specifically, in schools where the climate is perceived to be more ethical, student engagement is higher, regardless of how envied students feel. The paper concludes with a list of practical implications that may serve educators in their attempts to create conditions that foster students' engagement in class.