Predicting Students' Attitudes Towards Academic Writing Based on Patterns of Scientific Help-Seeking and Academic Optimism

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Department of Education, Faculty of Educational Sciences and Psychology, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Ardabil, Iran.

2 Department of Education, Educational Sciences and Psychology, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Ardabil, Iran

Abstract

Objective: In the academic environment, students need academic writing contexts to support their engagement in "academic writing" and help them embrace the identity of an academic writer. Academic help-seeking and academic optimism culture are among these contexts and factors that can affect students' attitudes towards academic writing. This study aimed to identify the predictive pattern of students' attitudes towards academic writing based on these categories.
Methods: The research design of the present study was applied in terms of purpose and descriptive in terms of data collection and analysis. The statistical population of this study included all postgraduate students at the University of Mohaghegh Ardebili based on the statistical offices available in the university, totaling 3,330 master students and 866 Ph.D. candidates. A sample of 300 individuals was selected using the convenience method. The research instruments included standard questionnaires: students' attitudes towards academic writing by Cheong et al., academic help-seeking by Ryan and Peintrich, and academic optimism by Hoy. Data were analyzed using correlation and partial least squares (PLS) methods, with SPSS and Smart PLS software employed for the analysis.
Result: Considering the acceptability of the indicators and achieving a goodness of fit of 0.43, which exceeds the desired value of 0.36, the predicted conceptual model of the relationships between the variables has been validated. The path coefficient for scientific help-seeking was 0.79 (P < 0.01 and t = 22.03) and for academic optimism was 0.54 (P < 0.01 and t = 8.51), both significantly predicting the attitude towards academic writing.
Conclusions: According to the results obtained, by fostering academic optimism and improving the context of academic help-seeking by creating and maintaining a culture of collective self-efficacy, collective trust, educational emphasis, and by creating conditions to meet scientific needs through development-oriented interactions and scientific support for students, one can take steps to improve students' attitudes towards academic writing.a

Keywords

References

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Academic Librarianship and Information Research
Volume 58, Issue 1
March 2024
Pages 1-12

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