The Impact of a Positive School Atmosphere on Chinese Students' Learning Engagement: The Mediating Role of Positive Emotions and Academic Self-Efficacy

Abstract

This study aims to examine the impact of a positive school atmosphere on the learning engagement of Chinese university students, with a particular focus on the mediating roles of positive emotions and academic self-efficacy. Using a quantitative research design, data were collected from a representative sample of students through carefully structured questionnaires that measured perceptions of school climate, emotional states, self-efficacy beliefs, and engagement behaviors. Structural equation modeling was employed to rigorously analyze the complex interrelationships among these variables and to identify both direct and indirect effects. The results reveal that a supportive, inclusive, and encouraging school environment significantly enhances students’ participation, attention, and persistence in academic activities. Furthermore, the findings indicate that positive emotions, reflecting students’ feelings of enjoyment, satisfaction, and motivation, as well as academic self-efficacy, reflecting students’ confidence in their ability to achieve learning goals, partially mediate the effect of school atmosphere on engagement. This suggests that a favorable school climate not only directly motivates students but also fosters psychological states that reinforce their commitment to learning. These insights provide important theoretical implications for educational practice, emphasizing that institutions should integrate efforts to cultivate a positive, student-centered atmosphere with strategies that strengthen students’ emotional well-being and self-belief, thereby promoting sustained learning motivation, academic achievement, and overall personal development.