Academic Self-Efficacy Mediates the Effects of SchoolPsychological Climate on Academic Achievement

Rune Høigaard, Velibor Bobo Kovac, Nina Cecilie Øverby, and Tommy HaugenUniversity of Agder

This study investigated the effects of proximal and distal constructs on adolescent’sacademic achievement through self-efficacy. Participants included 482 ninth- and tenth- gradeNorwegian students who completed a questionnaire designed to assess school-goalorientations, organizational citizenship behavior, academic self-efficacy, and academicachievement. The results of a bootstrapping technique used to analyze relationshipsbetween the constructs indicated that school-goal orientations and organizational citi-zenship predicted academic self-efficacy. Furthermore, school-goal orientation, orga-nizational citizenship, and academic self-efficacy explained 46% of the variance inacademic achievement. Mediation analyses revealed that academic self-efficacy medi-ated the effects of perceived task goal structure, perceived ability structure, civic virtue,and sportsmanship on adolescents’ academic achievements. The results are discussed inreference to current scholarship, including theories underlying our hypothesis. Practicalimplications and directions for future research are suggested.

Keywords: school psychological environment, citizenship behavior, academic self-efficacy,academic achievement

The potential for education to assist in effortsto fulfill a student’s ambitions by providingenvironments designed to promote their posi-tive development, including their cognitive abil-ities, is indisputable. Adolescents are in a sen-sitive developmental period in which socialcomparisons and identity formation generallyare prominent. Furthermore, this period can be

especially demanding while attempting to main-tain an academic focus while also strugglingwith competing challenges (e.g., rapid physicalchanges, sex role orientation) that may createimpediments to their academic developmentand general psychosocial adjustment (Hardy,Bukowski, & Sippola, 2002; Larson, Moneta,Richards, & Wilson, 2002; Rusby, Forrester,Biglan, & Metzler, 2005).

The importance of academic self-efficacy andpsychological climate on academic achieve-ment is well established. Higher levels of aca-demic self-efficacy are important, perhaps evencritical, to attaining desired high levels of aca-demic performance (Bandura, 1997; Schunk,Pintrich, & Meece, 2010; Vrugt, Kangereis, &Hoogstraten, 1997). Moreover, the presence ofa task-oriented and supportive learning environ-ment also seems to be important for high aca-demic achievement (Eccles et al., 1993; Maehr& Anderman, 1993; Midgley, 1993; Wang &Holcombe, 2010).

However, solely personal processes (Ban-dura, 1997; Schunk et al., 2010) may not deter-mine self-efficacy. Self-efficacy may also beinfluenced by environmental and behavioralevents within the school, including a school’spsychological climate (Bandura, Caprara, Bar-

This article was published Online First April 7, 2014.Rune Høigaard, Department of Public Health, Sport, and

Nutrition, Faculty of Health and Sport Sciences, Universityof Agder, Kristiansand, Norway; Velibor Bobo Kovac, De-partment of Education, Faculty of Humanities and Educa-tion, University of Agder; Nina Cecilie Øverby, Departmentof Public Health, Sport, and Nutrition, Faculty of Health andSport Sciences, University of Agder; Tommy Haugen, De-partment of Public Health, Sport, and Nutrition, Faculty ofHealth and Sport Sciences, University of Agder.

This study is a part of a larger study of school achieve-ment conducted jointly by the University of Agder andSørlandet Resource Centre in Norway. The authors thankpersonnel at the Sørlandet Resource Centre as well as theprincipals, staff, and students at the four participatingschools for their support.

Correspondence concerning this article should be ad-dressed to Rune Høigaard, University of Agder, Departmentof Public Health, Sport, and Nutrition, Faculty of Health andSport Sciences, Service Box 422, No-4604 Kristiansand,Norway. E-mail: rune.hoigaard@uia.no

Thi

sdo

cum

ent

isco

pyri

ghte

dby

the

Am

eric

anPs

ycho

logi

cal

Ass

ocia

tion

oron

eof

itsal

lied

publ

ishe

rs.

Thi

sar

ticle

isin

tend

edso

lely

for

the

pers

onal

use

ofth

ein

divi

dual

user

and

isno

tto

bedi

ssem

inat

edbr

oadl

y.

School Psychology Quarterly © 2014 American Psychological Association2015, Vol. 30, No. 1, 64–74 1045-3830/15/$12.00 DOI: 10.1037/spq0000056

64

baranelli, Pastorelli, & Regali, 2001). Self-efficacy is an important mediator of academicachievement (Diseth, 2011; Zhu, Chen, Chen,& Chern, 2011; Zimmerman & Bandura, 1994).However, the extent to which self-efficacy mayalso mediate relationships between school envi-ronments and academic achievement has seem-ingly not been examined. This study investi-gates relationships among middle-schoolstudents’ perceptions of their learning environ-ment, self-efficacy beliefs, and academicachievement. The mediating role of academicself-efficacy in the relationship between per-ceived school psychological climate and aca-demic achievement is also examined.

School Psychological Climate and LearningAchievements

Students characterize a school’s psychologi-cal climate in light of their personal perceptionsof its proximal and distal qualities (Roeser,Midgley, & Urdan, 1996). Students’ percep-tions of the dominant learning goal orientationsthat their school tends to display constitutes thedistal qualities of a school’s psychological cli-mate. According to achievement goal theory(Ames, 1992a, 1992b; Nicholls, 1989; Roberts,2001), students often perceive and define theirschool’s social and learning context in one oftwo fundamentally opposite orientations. Onefocuses on mastery orientation. It promotesadaptive functioning that helps and supports thelearning contexts. For example, teachers usingmastery orientation tend to promote a learningatmosphere that stimulates students’ intrinsicmotivation, personal efforts, and general im-provement. In contrast, another focuses on per-formance orientation. Its atmosphere is morecompetitive and draws distinctions betweencorrect and incorrect performance. Teachers us-ing a performance orientation tend to promoterivalry and competition, compare students, andsuppress intrinsic motivation (Duda & White-head, 1998).

Organizational citizenship behavior (OCB)exemplifies proximal aspects of an environ-ment’s psychological climate. At first, OCBwas defined as an “individual behavior that isdiscretionary, not directly or explicitly recog-nized by the formal reward system, and that inthe aggregate promotes the effective function-ing of the organization” (Organ, 1988, p. 4).

Later, the definition was modified to “perfor-mance that supports the social and psychologi-cal environment in which task performancetakes place” (Organ, 1997, p. 95). The morerecent definition explicitly associates OCB withtask performances regardless of the effect ofpotential formal rewards.

The concept of OCB, developed originallyfor use in organizational psychology contexts,has been subject to considerable research (e.g.,Podsakoff, Blume, Whiting, & Podsakoff,2009), and its conceptually distinct dimensionsare identified (Organ, 1988, 1990; Organ, Pod-sakoff, & MacKenzie, 2006). Current scholar-ship focuses on three main dimensions (Podsa-koff, Ahearne, & MacKenzie, 1997):sportsmanship (e.g., the willingness to toleratethe inevitable inconveniences and impositionsof work without complaining), civic virtue (e.g.,responsive, constructive involvement in the or-ganization), and helping behavior (e.g., volun-tarily helping others with an organizationallyrelevant task or problem). Thus, OCB is viewedas an essential part of an organization. Organi-zational citizenship contributes to several im-portant organizational outcomes, including mo-tivation, productivity, performance, and jobsatisfaction (see Organ et al., 2006 and Podsa-koff et al., 2009 for overviews).

Some studies investigated OCB in a schoolcontext from the perceptions of teachers andschool leaders (e.g., Koh, Steers, & Terborg,1995). In addition, a study of university stu-dents found a positive association betweenOCB and academic achievement, consistentwith findings generally observed in businesssettings (Allison, Voss, & Dryer, 2001). Thus,the belief that OCB also may exert an influenceon secondary school achievement seems tena-ble.

Academic Self-Efficacy and AcademicAchievement

Self-efficacy refers to self-beliefs about thedegree of perceived self-control over future ac-tions. Self-efficacy is linked to one’s actual per-formance in a specific domain (Maddux & Gos-selin, 2003). Self-efficacy beliefs comprise acomponent of a person’s global self-conceptand typically refer to an individual’s ability tosuccessfully perform a certain task (Huang,2011; Sanchez & Roda, 2003). Personal abili-

65EFFECTS OF SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGICAL CLIMATES

Thi

sdo

cum

ent

isco

pyri

ghte

dby

the

Am

eric

anPs

ycho

logi

cal

Ass

ocia

tion

oron

eof

itsal

lied

publ

ishe

rs.

Thi

sar

ticle

isin

tend

edso

lely

for

the

pers

onal

use

ofth

ein

divi

dual

user

and

isno

tto

bedi

ssem

inat

edbr

oadl

y.

ties vary substantially across different behav-iors—we are good at some things and not goodat other things. The effect of self-efficacy isbetter understood when its assessment is do-main-specific rather than focused on more gen-eral behaviors (Bandura, 1986, 1997; Multon,Brown, & Lent, 1991; Valentine, DuBois, &Cooper, 2004). Thus, the assessment of self-efficacy usually focuses on specific domains(Bandura, 1997). The direct effect of self-efficacy in predicting subsequent behavior ingeneral is well documented (e.g., Bandura, Ca-prara, Barbaranelli, Gerbino, & Pastorelli,2003; Caprara, Barbaranelli, Pastorelli, & Cer-vone, 2004). Moreover, its effect on academicachievements is well documented (Bandura,Barbaranelli, Caprara, & Pastorelli, 1996;Chemers, Hu, & Garcia, 2001; Greene, Miller,Crowson, Duke, & Akey, 2004; Pintrich & De-Groot, 1990; Schunk, 1994; Sharma & Silbere-isen, 2007; Zimmerman & Bandura, 1994).

Academic self-efficacy refers to personal be-liefs about one’s ability to organize and executeactions to attain desired levels of academic per-formance (Zimmerman, 1995). Academic self-efficacy beliefs relate positively to academicperformances, achievements, and efforts (Mul-ton et al., 1991), including those for middle-school students (Britner & Pajares, 2006; Pa-jares, Britner, & Valiante, 2000). The strengthof one’s self-efficacy during middle school isimportant. Those with higher levels are likely tosucceed now and are better prepared for lateracademic and vocational challenges (Bandura etal., 2001; Zimmerman, 1990). In contrast, thosewith lower levels are likely to do less well

academically now and later and to display otherdifficulties (e.g., antisocial behaviors) (Ban-dura, 1997; Bandura et al., 1996; Bandura et al.,2001). Although the direct effects of self-efficacy on academic achievement are impres-sive and well documented, the role of self-efficacy as a mediator has not been exploredwidely. Bandura’s (1986) belief that self-efficacy may mediate the effects of other self-beliefs on subsequent performance helps guidethis research (see also Bandura, 1997; Zimmer-man, 1995; Zimmerman & Bandura, 1994).

The purpose of this study is to investigate theeffects of proximal and distal qualities on aca-demic success among Norwegian middle-school students (see Figure 1). The followingthree hypothesized are tested: (a) proximal anddistal qualities associated with school psycho-logical climate will predict self-efficacy, (b)self-efficacy will have the strongest effect onacademic achievement, and (c) self-efficacymediates the effects of proximal/distal qualitiesof school psychological climate on academicachievement.

Method

Participants

Norwegian ninth- and tenth-grade students(i.e., approximately 14–15 years old) who at-tended one of four secondary schools in threedifferent municipalities in Vest-Agder Countywere invited to participate. The schools wereselected by the Sørlandet Resource Centre towell represent the county by including urban

PTGS

PAGS

OCB-H

OCB-CV

OCB-S

ASE

AA

a path

b path

c (total effect)

c´ (direct effect)

ab path (indirect effect)

Figure 1. The hypothesized mediation model. PTGS � perceived task goal structure;PAGS � perceived ability goal structure; OCB � organizational citizenship behavior; H �helping behavior; CV � civic virtue; S � sportsmanship; ASE � academic self-efficacy,AA � academic achievement.

66 HØIGAARD, KOVAC, ØVERBY, AND HAUGEN

Thi

sdo

cum

ent

isco

pyri

ghte

dby

the

Am

eric

anPs

ycho

logi

cal

Ass

ocia

tion

oron

eof

itsal

lied

publ

ishe

rs.

Thi

sar

ticle

isin

tend

edso

lely

for

the

pers

onal

use

ofth

ein

divi

dual

user

and

isno

tto

bedi

ssem

inat

edbr

oadl

y.

and rural communities. The sample is one char-acterized by convenience. The principals of fourschools, two urban and two rural, contacted bythe Sørlandet Resource Centre agreed to partic-ipate. Six hundred twenty-five students wereinvited to participate, and 482 students returnedtheir questionnaires (a participation rate of77%), among which 475 included all neededdata and 7 were excluded because of their manyshortcomings. The final sample included 49%males with a mean age of 14.6 years for bothsexes.

Procedure

The students completed the questionnaireduring a school class and under the supervisionof a project worker. Students were informedthat their responses were anonymous and thattheir participation was voluntary. The studentsreceived oral and written instructions on how tocomplete the questionnaire. Project workers an-swered student questions. Students returned thecompleted questionnaires in a sealed envelopeto the project worker. Institutional ethics ap-proval was obtained according to the SørlandetResource Centre institutional procedures.

Measurements

School goal orientation. The School GoalScale (SGS; Roeser et al., 1996) was used tomeasure students’ perceptions of the schoolpsychological climate. This scale consists oftwo subscales. The perceived task goal structurescale’s six items assess students’ perceptions oftheir school’s emphasis on effort, understand-ing, and the belief that all students can learn andbe successful (i.e., a reflection of mastery ori-entation). An item example follows: “In thisschool, understanding the work is more impor-tant than getting the right answers.” The scale’s� coefficient was 0.81. The perceived abilitygoal structure scale’s six items assess students’perceptions that relative ability is a salient andrewarded marker of success in the school andthat higher achieving students are treated betterthan other students (i.e., a reflection of perfor-mance orientation). An item example follows:“In this school, teachers treat kids who get goodgrades better than other kids.” The scale’s �coefficient was 0.81. All items were measuredusing a 5-point Likert scale (1 � not at all truein this school, 5 � very true in this school).

Thus, higher values reflect a stronger perceptionof the measured goal structure.

OCB. The OCB scale’s 13 items assess stu-dents’ perception of citizenship behavior in theclass (Podsakoff et al., 1997). The scale’s itemswere adapted to better suit students in educa-tional settings. The scale assessed three types ofOCB. The helping behavior scale used sevenitems to assess students’ discretionary behav-iors that help other students with a school-relevant task or problem. An item example fol-lows: “Students in my class help other studentsif they fall behind in his or her schoolwork.”The scale’s � coefficient was 0.88. The civicvirtue scale uses three items to assess the degreestudents are responsible for participating or be-ing involved in or are concerned about behaviorin the class. An item example follows: “Provideconstructive suggestions about how studentscan improve learning in class.” The scale’s �coefficient was 0.77. The Sportsmanship scaleused three items to assess student willingness totolerate less-than-ideal circumstances withoutcomplaining. An item example follows: “Al-ways focus on what is wrong with our situation,rather than the positive side”—an item that wasreverse scored. The scale’s � coefficient was0.70.

All subscales were rated on a 7-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to7 (strongly agree). Thus, higher values indi-cated higher levels of each type of OCB.

Academic self-efficacy. The academicself-efficacy scale (Roeser et al., 1996) wasused to measure students’ academic self-efficacy. The scale’s six items assess whetherstudents believe they could master the academicmaterial and skills if they were provided suffi-cient time and exerted sufficient effort. An itemexample follows: “If I have enough time, I cando a good job on all my schoolwork.” The �coefficient for the scale was 0.92. Items wereassessed on a 5-point scale ranging from 1 (notat all true of me) to 5 (very true of me). Thus,higher values indicate higher levels of academicself-efficacy.

Academic achievement. Academicachievement was measured by asking studentsto report their grade point averages in three coreacademic subjects: mathematics, Norwegian,and English languages. The scale used in theseschools ranges from 1 (lowest academic grade)to 6 (highest academic grade).

67EFFECTS OF SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGICAL CLIMATES

Thi

sdo

cum

ent

isco

pyri

ghte

dby

the

Am

eric

anPs

ycho

logi

cal

Ass

ocia

tion

oron

eof

itsal

lied

publ

ishe

rs.

Thi

sar

ticle

isin

tend

edso

lely

for

the

pers

onal

use

ofth

ein

divi

dual

user

and

isno

tto

bedi

ssem

inat

edbr

oadl

y.

Statistical Analyses

The concept of mediation may be explainedas a third variable that represents the mecha-nism through which the independent variableinfluences an outcome (i.e., a dependent vari-able). Mediation analyses can be used to test atheory on the terms of the process by which agiven effect is produced (Preacher & Hayes,2004). The Preacher and Hayes (2004) boot-strapping technique for mediation analysis wasused to test the hypothesized model while alsocontrolling for covariates. Bootstrapping refersto a nonparametric resampling procedure to testthe null hypothesis for indirect effects. Boot-strapping involves repeated extraction with re-placement of samples from the data set (in thestudy presented here, the number of bootstrapsamples is 20,000) and the estimation of theindirect effect in each resampled data set. Inextensive sets of simulations, MacKinnon,Lockwood, Hoffman, West, and Sheets (2002)examined the performance of different methodsfor testing mediation to assess their Type I errorrates and power. They recommended the use ofthe distribution of the product approach or boot-strapping over the Sobel test or causal stepsapproach on the grounds that the former havehigher power while maintaining reasonablecontrol over the Type I error rate. In addition tonormal theory regression procedures, the boot-strapping technique produces point estimatesand bias-corrected confidence intervals for theindirect effect. A biased-corrected confidenceinterval not including zero indicates a statisti-cally significant mediation.

Results

Descriptive statistics and correlation coef-ficients are reported in Table 1. Correlationsamong perceived task goal structure, aca-demic self-efficacy, and academic achieve-ment were positive. In contrast, correlationamong perceived ability goal structure, aca-demic self-efficacy, and academic achieve-ment were negative. Two OCB subscales,helping behavior and civic virtue, were posi-tively related to academic self-efficacy andacademic achievement. However, the thirdsubscale, sportsmanship, was unrelated to ac-ademic self-efficacy and was negatively re-lated to academic achievement.

The Mediator Model—Predicting AcademicSelf-Efficacy

Data pertaining to the effect of distal/proximal qualities of the school psychologicalclimate on academic achievement through aca-demic self-efficacy are shown in Table 2. Wheninvestigating the mediator model (i.e., the effectof the predictors on the mediator; a path inFigure 1), the school-task goal structure,school-ability goal structure, and two of thethree OCB subscales (i.e., civic virtue andsportsmanship) individually predicted academicself-efficacy. More specifically, perceived abil-ity goal structure and sportsmanship were in-versely related to academic self-efficacywhereas perceived task goal structure and civicvirtue were positively related to academic self-efficacy.

Table 1Descriptive Statistics of Variables and Correlations

M SD 2 3 4 5 6 7

1. PTGS 3.59 0.75 �.30� .40� .39� �.01 .38� .18�

2. PAGS 2.58 1.01 �.10� �.12� �.29� �.22� �.18�

3. OCB-H 4.20 1.17 .63� .13� .34� .23�

4. OCB-CV 4.35 1.30 �.02 .45� .29�

5. OCB-S 4.20 1.30 �.06 �.16�

6. ASE 3.90 0.91 .64�

7. AA 3.85 0.87

Note. PTGS � perceived task goal structure; PAGS � perceived ability goal structure; OCB � organizational citizenshipbehavior; H � helping behavior; CV � civic virtue; S � sportsmanship; ASE � academic self-efficacy; AA � academicachievement.� p � .05.

68 HØIGAARD, KOVAC, ØVERBY, AND HAUGEN

Thi

sdo

cum

ent

isco

pyri

ghte

dby

the

Am

eric

anPs

ycho

logi

cal

Ass

ocia

tion

oron

eof

itsal

lied

publ

ishe

rs.

Thi

sar

ticle

isin

tend

edso

lely

for

the

pers

onal

use

ofth

ein

divi

dual

user

and

isno

tto

bedi

ssem

inat

edbr

oadl

y.

The Outcome Model—Predicting AcademicAchievement

Taken together, the model explained 46% ofthe variation in academic achievement. Wheninvestigating the total effects (i.e., before enter-ing the mediator; c path in Figure 1) from thepredictors to academic achievement, results re-vealed that perceived ability goal structure pre-dicted academic achievement inversely, civicvirtue positively, and sportsmanship inversely.Furthermore, when entering the mediator, onlyone direct effect, sportsmanship, (c’ path inFigure 1) remained statistically significant. Inaddition, academic self-efficacy positively pre-dicted academic achievement. Moreover, onecovariate, gender, independently predicted aca-demic achievement: girls achieved higher thanboys (see Table 2).

Indirect Effects on Academic AchievementThrough Self-Efficacy

The possible indirect effects of the multiplepredictors on academic achievement throughacademic self-efficacy were investigated. All

indirect paths were significant (biased-correctedconfidence interval not including zero) excepthelping behavior (Table 2). In other words,higher levels of perceived task goal structureand civic virtue predicted higher levels of aca-demic achievement through higher academicself-efficacy. Furthermore, higher levels of per-ceived ability goal structure and sportsmanshippredicted lower levels of academic self-efficacy, which in turn predicted lower levels ofacademic achievement.

Discussion

The aim of the study presented here was toinvestigate the effects of proximal and distalfactors on academic achievement through self-efficacy in Norwegian middle-school students.Academic self-efficacy stands out as a strongpredictor of academic achievement. This find-ing is consistent with previous research (Ban-dura, 1997; Schunk et al., 2010; Vrugt et al.,1997). The important effect of academic beliefson academic achievement is well documented.An examination of the indirect effect of school

Table 2Investigating Indirect Effects. Dependent Variable: Academic Achievement

MediatorModela

Outcome Modelb

Totald Directe

Indirectf

BC 95% CIg

PE (SE)c PE (SE)c PE (SE)c PE (SE)c LL UL

PredictorsPTGS .206 (.061)�� .026 (.062) �.095 (.051) .121 (.041) .044 .205PAGS �.157 (.044)�� �.158 (.044)�� �.066 (.036) �.093 (.033) �.160 �.030OCB-H .053 (.045) �.028 (.046) �.003 (.039) .032 (.001) �.019 .086OCB-CV .217 (.040)�� .156 (.040)�� .028 (.034) .129 (.001) .077 .182OCB-S �.090 (.033)�� �.126 (.033)�� �.073 (.027)�� �.053 (.022) �.095 �.011

MediatorASE .591 (.041)��

CovariatesAge �.079 (.058)Gender �.285 (.064)��

Full model summary: R2 � .46, F (df1, df2) � 42.97 (8,407), p � .01.

Note. PTGS � perceived task goal structure; PAGS � perceived ability goal structure; OCB � organizational citizenshipbehavior; H � helping behavior; CV � civic virtue; S � sportsmanship; ASE � academic self-efficacy; DV � dependentvariable; IV � independent variable; M � mediator.a Effect of IV on M: a-path. b Effect of IV and M on DV. c Bootstrapped point estimate (standard error). d Effect ofIV on DV (before entering the M; c-path). e Effect of IV on DV (not via the M: c’-path). f Effect of IV on DV throughM: ab-path. g Bias-corrected 95% confidence interval (those not including zero in bold). LL � lower limit; UL � upperlimit.�� p � .01 statistically significant point estimate.

69EFFECTS OF SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGICAL CLIMATES

Thi

sdo

cum

ent

isco

pyri

ghte

dby

the

Am

eric

anPs

ycho

logi

cal

Ass

ocia

tion

oron

eof

itsal

lied

publ

ishe

rs.

Thi

sar

ticle

isin

tend

edso

lely

for

the

pers

onal

use

ofth

ein

divi

dual

user

and

isno

tto

bedi

ssem

inat

edbr

oadl

y.

and classroom psychological climates on aca-demic achievement through academic self-efficacy finds that self-efficacy mediates the ef-fect of perceived task and ability goal structure,civic virtue, and sportsmanship on academicachievement. More specifically, academicachievement is affected through increased aca-demic self-efficacy when students perceived theschool climate to be task-oriented and aimedtoward civic virtue. In contrast, academicachievement is affected negatively through de-creased academic self-efficacy when school cli-mate is perceived to be sportsmanship- and abil-ity-oriented.

More specifically, students report higher lev-els of academic achievement when they per-ceive the school psychological climate to betask-oriented and display a higher level of aca-demic self-efficacy. The opposite relationshipemerges for students who perceive the schoolclimate as ability-oriented; students perceivingthe school psychological climate to be ability-oriented typically displayed lower levels of ac-ademic self-efficacy and, in turn, lower levels ofacademic achievement.

These results are consistent with priorachievement goal research (Roberts, 2001; Sc-hunk et al., 2010), which shows a consistent andsystematic relational pattern between achieve-ment goals and behavioral, emotional, and cog-nitive outcomes. An emphasis on growth-oriented learning processes fosters a higherintrinsic motivation for learning, more effectivecognitive learning strategies, and less anxiety inthe learning environment. The importance ofautonomy, competence, and relatedness in pro-moting self-efficacy and academic achievementhas been highlighted elsewhere (Niemiec &Ryan, 2009). In contrast, a focus on ability,grades, and competition among students andsorting students into ability groups may dimin-ish academic efficacy and subsequently loweracademic performance (Benware & Deci, 1984;Tsai, Kunter, Lüdtke, Trautwein, & Ryan,2008). However, under some conditions, highachievers benefit from an ability-oriented cli-mate (Schunk et al., 2010).

OCB constitutes a set of important qualitiesthat affect organizational performance, effec-tiveness, and job satisfaction (Organ et al.,2006; Podsakoff et al., 2009). We found thatOCB indirectly affects academic achievementthrough academic self-efficacy. The perception

of high levels of civic virtue in the classroommay reflect an environment that is characterizedby positive task feedback and interaction amongstudents in a supporting and stimulating atmo-sphere. Such behavior and atmosphere may pro-mote academic self-efficacy and academicachievement (Bandura, 1997; Schunk et al.,2010).

However, somewhat surprisingly, sportsman-ship’s influence on academic achievement isnegative through academic self-efficacy. In con-trast, sportsmanship has been linked in the OCBliterature to effectiveness and organizationalperformance because it indicates less complain-ing about trivial matters and a greater willing-ness to make the best of unhelpful situations(Organ et al., 2006). Such behaviors seeminglyharmonize situations that otherwise could bequasi-litigious and thus wasteful of time andeffort. The fact that there is a direct link be-tween academic self-efficacy and achievementin the school contexts may help account for thenegative relationship between sportsmanshipand academic self-efficacy and academicachievement in this study. Sportsmanship is ac-cording to Organ et al. (2006) related to thingspeople choose not to do (e.g. complaining). Notcomplaining can have a positive effect on orga-nizational effectiveness because it represents ageneralized willingness to make the best of thesituation (Organ et al. 2006).

In a school context, students’ complainingabout, opposition to, and critical evaluation ofthe learning environment may reflect their in-volvement and critical thinking. Students be-lieve their voiced concerns are taken seriouslyand that their suggestions are important whenteachers listen carefully and respond interac-tively and constructively to their critical com-plaints. In line with such reasoning, this mayinfluence students’ academic self-efficacy. Fur-thermore, student complaints and critical com-ments also may contribute to positive changesin the learning environment, leading to improveefficacy and achievement.

Limitations

Some limitations characterize this study.First, although the schools were selected to berepresentative of the county by including urbanand rural communities, the participants in thestudy presented here nevertheless represent a

70 HØIGAARD, KOVAC, ØVERBY, AND HAUGEN

Thi

sdo

cum

ent

isco

pyri

ghte

dby

the

Am

eric

anPs

ycho

logi

cal

Ass

ocia

tion

oron

eof

itsal

lied

publ

ishe

rs.

Thi

sar

ticle

isin

tend

edso

lely

for

the

pers

onal

use

ofth

ein

divi

dual

user

and

isno

tto

bedi

ssem

inat

edbr

oadl

y.

convenient sample. Second, the study was fullycorrelational in nature, which sets limits formaking conclusive statements in terms of cau-sality when discussing relations between thestudy variables. Additional longitudinal re-search that follows and measures importantvariables over time is needed to provide aninsight to the causal processes that influenceacademic achievement. Furthermore, one mayargue that this study includes variables frommultiple levels of measurement (Martin, Bobis,Anderson, Way, & Vellar, 2011). The schoolpsychological climate may be considered to belevel 2 measures (i.e., school-level data), whichwarrant multilevel analyses of the researchquestion of interest. The usual assumption whenusing regression models is that individual ob-servations are independent. This assumptionmay not be true when using nested structureslike those in this study. As a consequence, theeffects from pooled estimates may be underes-timated. We regretfully have no informationabout what class of school the participants at-tend. In other words, the study presented herecannot take this possible clustering effect intoaccount. This fact should be considered wheninterpreting the results.

Third, the study presented here relies on self-reported grade point averages as indications ofacademic achievement. Although the use ofself-reported grades is fairly common in educa-tional research, this practice has been criticizedon methodological grounds (Kuncel, MarcusCredé, & Thomas, 2005). However, despite thecriticism, Kuncel and colleagues acknowledgethat practical difficulties often exist when at-tempting to obtain school transcripts. They alsorecognize that self-reported grades can be used,but with caution. In the study presented here, weasked participants to report their grades in threekey subjects: math and Norwegian and Englishlanguages. All three variables showed a clearpattern of normal distribution with averagemeans centered close to the arithmetical meanof the 6-point scale. Furthermore, this pattern ofself-reported grades corresponds to the distribu-tion of school-reported grades obtained fromeducational administrators in the municipality,thus strengthening the validity of our measure(Udir, 2013). Moreover, the prediction of aca-demic achievement is a complex issue, and sev-eral other relevant variables (e.g., the pupil’sintelligence, self-regulation ability, self-

concept, socioeconomic background, etc.) couldbe included in future models.

Finally, caution should be taken when inter-preting the unexpected result related to sports-manship. All items within the subscale ofsportsmanship are negatively worded, in con-trast to positively worded items in the two otherOCB subscales. This negative wording mayhave caused an agreeing-response effect or ac-quiescence (i.e., the tendency to answer items ina positive way regardless of their content;Bentler, Jackson, & Messick, 1971; Billiet &Davidov, 2008). Also, the finding that sports-manship did not correlate with academic self-efficacy in bivariate correlations yet predictedacademic achievement in the mediation modelmay suggest a collider effect (i.e., the change inassociation between two variables when condi-tioning on their common effect, resulting in thetwo causes colliding at the common effect;Hernán, Hernandez-Diaz, & Robins, 2004).Thus, future work should investigate the valid-ity of the OCB scale and consider the possibilityof causal relationships between sportsmanshipand the other independent variables.

Implications

Notwithstanding these limitations, the resultspresented here have theoretical and practicalimplications. In terms of theory, the results pro-vide further support for the important role ofacademic self-efficacy in influencing learningachievements. Furthermore, the results also pro-vide additional support for achievement-goaltheory (Ames, 1992a, 1992b; Nicholls, 1989;Roberts, 2001) and emphasize the importanceof pupils’ perceptions of the dominant learninggoals that their schools tend to adopt. The roleof these distal aspects of the school psycholog-ical climate on self-efficacy and academicachievement is theoretically important becauseit highlights the significance of a broad ap-proach to understanding pupils’ motivations.

In terms of practical implications, the find-ings presented here indicate that teachers shouldattend to the manner in which the learning at-mosphere develops and that teachers shouldstrive to promote cooperative and productiverelationships among pupils. Thus, teachersshould adopt mastery orientation, a techniqueknown to exert a positive influence on academicachievement through elevating levels of self-

71EFFECTS OF SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGICAL CLIMATES

Thi

sdo

cum

ent

isco

pyri

ghte

dby

the

Am

eric

anPs

ycho

logi

cal

Ass

ocia

tion

oron

eof

itsal

lied

publ

ishe

rs.

Thi

sar

ticle

isin

tend

edso

lely

for

the

pers

onal

use

ofth

ein

divi

dual

user

and

isno

tto

bedi

ssem

inat

edbr

oadl

y.

efficacy in specific and general self-determina-tion. Furthermore, knowledge about Bandura’ssocial-cognitive theory and self-efficacy in par-ticular can be of vital importance. Consistentwith a larger body of research from OCB, teach-ers at the preservice and in-service levels shouldlearn to promote methods that encourage stu-dents to practice good study routines and todevelop norms and attitudes that foster extrarolebehavior.

References

Allison, B. J., Voss, R. S., & Dryer, S. (2001).Student classroom and career success: The role oforganizational citizenship behavior. Journal of Ed-ucation for Business, 76, 282–288. doi:10.1080/08832320109599650

Ames, C. (1992a). Achievement goals and the class-room motivational climate. In D. H. Schunk &J. L. Meece (Eds.), Student perceptions in theclassroom (pp. 327–348). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

Ames, C. (1992b). Classrooms: Goals, structures,and student motivation. Journal of EducationalPsychology, 84, 261–271. doi:10.1037/0022-0663.84.3.261

Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thoughtand action: A social cognitive theory, PrenticeHall series in social learning theory. EnglewoodCliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise ofcontrol. New York, NY: Freeman.

Bandura, A., Barbaranelli, C., Caprara, G. V., &Pastorelli, C. (1996). Multifaceted impact of self-efficacy beliefs on academic functioning. ChildDevelopment, 67, 1206 –1222. doi:10.2307/1131888

Bandura, A., Caprara, G. V., Barbaranelli, C.,Gerbino, M., & Pastorelli, C. (2003). Role of af-fective self-regulatory efficacy in diverse spheresof psychosocial functioning. Child Development,74, 769–782. doi:10.1111/1467-8624.00567

Bandura, A., Caprara, G. V., Barbaranelli, C., Pas-torelli, C., & Regali, C. (2001). Sociocognitiveself-regulatory mechanisms governing transgres-sive behavior. Journal of Personality and SocialPsychology, 80, 125–135. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.80.1.125

Bentler, P. M., Jackson, D. N., & Messick, S. (1971).Identification of content and style: A two-dimensional interpretation of acquiescence. Psy-chological Bulletin, 76, 186–204. doi:10.1037/h0031474

Benware, C. A., & Deci, E. L. (1984). Quality oflearning with an active versus passive motivationalset. American Educational Research Journal, 21,755–765. doi:10.3102/00028312021004755

Billiet, J. B., & Davidov, E. (2008). Testing thestability of an acquiescence style factor behind twointerrelated substantive variables in a panel design.Sociological Methods & Research, 36, 542–562.doi:10.1177/0049124107313901

Britner, S. L., & Pajares, F. (2006). Sources of sci-ence self-efficacy beliefs of middle school stu-dents. Journal of Research in Science Teaching,43, 485–499. doi:10.1002/tea.20131

Caprara, G. V., Barbaranelli, C., Pastorelli, C., &Cervone, D. (2004). The contribution of self-efficacy beliefs to psychosocial outcomes in ado-lescence: Predicting beyond global dispositionaltendencies. Personality and Individual Differ-ences, 37, 751–763. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2003.11.003

Chemers, M. M., Hu, L., & Garcia, B. F. (2001).Academic self-efficacy and first-year college stu-dent performance and adjustment. Journal of Ed-ucational Psychology, 93, 55–64. doi:10.1037/0022-0663.93.1.55

Diseth, Å. (2011). Self-efficacy, goal orientations andlearning strategies as mediators between precedingand subsequent academic achievement. Learningand Individual Differences, 21, 191–195. doi:10.1016/j.lindif.2011.01.003

Duda, J. L., & Whitehead, J. (1998). Measurement ofgoal perspectives in the physical domain. In J.Duda (Ed.), Advances in sport and exercise psy-chology measurement (pp. 21–48). Morgantown,WV: Fitness Information Technology.

Eccles, J. S., Wigfield, A., Midgley, C., Reuman, D.,MacIver, D., & Feldlaufer, H. (1993). Negativeeffects of traditional middle schools on students’motivation. The Elementary School Journal, 93,553–574. doi:10.1086/461740

Greene, B. A., Miller, R. B., Crowson, H. M., Duke,B. L., & Akey, K. L. (2004). Predicting highschool students’ cognitive engagement andachievement: Contributions of classroom percep-tions and motivation. Contemporary EducationalPsychology, 29, 462–482. doi:10.1016/j.cedpsych.2004.01.006

Hardy, C. L., Bukowski, W. M., & Sippola, L. K.(2002). Stability and change in peer relationshipsduring the transition to middle-level school. TheJournal of Early Adolescence, 22, 117–142. doi:10.1177/0272431602022002001

Hernán, M. A., Hernandez-Diaz, S., & Robins, J. M.(2004). A structural approach to selection bias.Epidemiology, 15, 615–625. doi:10.1097/01.ede.0000135174.63482.43

Huang, C. (2011). Self-concept and academicachievement: A meta-analysis of longitudinal re-lations. Journal of School Psychology, 49, 505–528.

Koh, W. L., Steers, R. M., & Terborg, J. R. (1995).The effects of transformational leadership on

72 HØIGAARD, KOVAC, ØVERBY, AND HAUGEN

Thi

sdo

cum

ent

isco

pyri

ghte

dby

the

Am

eric

anPs

ycho

logi

cal

Ass

ocia

tion

oron

eof

itsal

lied

publ

ishe

rs.

Thi

sar

ticle

isin

tend

edso

lely

for

the

pers

onal

use

ofth

ein

divi

dual

user

and

isno

tto

bedi

ssem

inat

edbr

oadl

y.

teacher attitudes and student performance in Sin-gapore. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 16,319–333. doi:10.1002/job.4030160404

Kuncel, N. R., Marcus Credé, M., & Thomas, L. L.(2005). The validity of self-reported grade pointaverages, class ranks, and rest scores: A meta-analysis and review of the literature. Review ofEducational Research, 75, 1, 63–82. doi:10.3102/00346543075001063

Larson, R. W., Moneta, G. B., Richards, M., & Wil-son, S. (2002). Continuity, stability, and change indaily emotional experience across adolescence.Child Development, 73, 1151–1165. doi:10.1111/1467-8624.00464

MacKinnon, D. P., Lockwood, C. M., Hoffman,J. M., West, S. G., & Sheets, V. (2002). A com-parison of methods to test mediation and otherintervening variable effects. Psychological Meth-ods, 7, 83–104. doi:10.1037/1082-989X.7.1.83

Maddux, J. E., & Gosselin, J. T. (2003). Self-efficacy. In M. R. Leary & J. P. Tangney (Eds.),Handbook of self and identity (pp. 218–238). NewYork, NY: The Guilford Press.

Maehr, M. L., & Anderman, E. M. (1993). Reinvent-ing schools for early adolescents: Emphasizingtask goals. The Elementary School Journal, 93,593–610. doi:10.1086/461742

Martin, A. J., Bobis, J., Anderson, J., Way, J., &Vellar, R. (2011). Patterns of multilevel variancein psycho-educational phenomena: Comparingmotivation, engagement, climate, teaching, andachievement factors. Zeitschrift für PädagogischePsychologie, 25, 49–61. doi:10.1024/1010-0652/a000029

Midgley, C. (1993). Motivation and middle levelschools. In P. Pintrich & M. L. Maehr (Eds.),Advances in motivation and achievement: Vol. 8.Motivation in the adolescent years (pp. 217–294).Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.

Multon, K. D., Brown, S. D., & Lent, R. W. (1991).Relation of self-efficacy beliefs to academic out-comes: A meta-analytic investigation. Journal ofCounseling Psychology, 38, 30–38. doi:10.1037/0022-0167.38.1.30

Nichols, J. G. (1989). The competitive ethos anddemocratic education. Cambridge, MA: HarvardUniversity Press.

Niemiec, C. P., & Ryan, R. M. (2009). Autonomy,competence, and relatedness in the classroom: Ap-plying self-determination theory to educationalpractice. Theory and Research in Education, 7,133–144. doi:10.1177/1477878509104318

Organ, D. W. (1988). Organizational citizenship be-havior: The good soldier syndrome. Lexington,MA: Lexington Books.

Organ, D. W. (1990). The subtle significance of jobsatisfaction. Clinical Laboratory Management Re-view, 4, 94–98.

Organ, D. W. (1997). Organizational citizenshipsbehavior: It’s construct cleanup time. HumanPerformance, 10, 85–97. doi:10.1207/s15327043hup1002_2

Organ, D. W., Podsakoff, P. M., & MacKenzie, S. B.(2006). Organizational citizenship behavior.Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Pajares, F., Britner, S., & Valiante, G. (2000). Writ-ing and science achievement goals of middleschool students. Contemporary Educational Psy-chology, 25, 406 – 422. doi:10.1006/ceps.1999.1027

Pintrich, P., & De Groot, E. V. (1990). Motivationaland self-regulated learning components of class-room academic performance. Journal of Educa-tional Psychology, 82, 33–40. doi:10.1037/0022-0663.82.1.33

Podsakoff, N. P., Blume, B. D., Whiting, S. W., &Podsakoff, P. M. (2009). Individual- and organi-zational-level consequences of organizational citi-zenship behaviors: A meta-analysis. Journal ofApplied Psychology, 94, 122–141. doi:10.1037/a0013079

Podsakoff, P. M., Ahearne, M., & MacKenzie, S. B.(1997). Organizational citizenship behavior andthe quantity and quality of work group perfor-mance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 82, 262–270. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.82.2.262

Preacher, K. J., & Hayes, A. F. (2004). SPSS andSAS procedures for estimating indirect effects insimple mediation models. Behavior ResearchMethods, Instruments, & Computers, 36, 717–731.doi:10.3758/BF03206553

Roberts, G. (2001). Advances in motivation in sportand exercise. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.

Roeser, R. W., Midgley, C., & Urdan, T. C. (1996).Perceptions of the school psychological environ-ment and early adolescents’ psychological and be-havioral functioning in school: The mediating roleof goals and belonging. Journal of EducationalPsychology, 88, 408–422. doi:10.1037/0022-0663.88.3.408

Rusby, J. C., Forrester, K. K., Biglan, A., & Metzler,C. W. (2005). Relationships between peer harass-ment and adolescent problem behaviors. The Jour-nal of Early Adolescence, 25, 453–477. doi:10.1177/0272431605279837

Sanchez, F. J. P., & Roda, M. D. S. (2003). Relation-ships between self-concept and academic achieve-ment in primary students. Electronic Journal ofResearch in Educational Psychology and Psycho-pedagogy, 1, 95–120.

Schunk, D. H. (1994). Self-regulation of self-efficacyand attributions in academic settings. In D. H.Schunk & B. J. Zimmerman (Eds.), Self-regulationof learning and performance: Issues and educa-tional applications (pp. 75–99). Hillsdale, NJ: Erl-baum.

73EFFECTS OF SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGICAL CLIMATES

Thi

sdo

cum

ent

isco

pyri

ghte

dby

the

Am

eric

anPs

ycho

logi

cal

Ass

ocia

tion

oron

eof

itsal

lied

publ

ishe

rs.

Thi

sar

ticle

isin

tend

edso

lely

for

the

pers

onal

use

ofth

ein

divi

dual

user

and

isno

tto

bedi

ssem

inat

edbr

oadl

y.

Schunk, D. H., Pintrich, P. R., & Meece, J. L. (2010).Motivation in education. Theory, research and ap-plication. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/MerrillPrentice Hall.

Sharma, D., & Silbereisen, R. K. (2007). Revisitingan era in Germany from the perspective of adoles-cents in mother headed single-parent families. In-ternational Journal of Psychology, 42, 46–58. doi:10.1080/00207590600663299

Tsai, Y., Kunter, M., Lüdtke, O., Trautwein, U., &Ryan, R. M. (2008). What makes lessons interest-ing? The role of situational and individual factorsin three school subjects. Journal of EducationalPsychology, 100, 460–472. doi:10.1037/0022-0663.100.2.460

Udir. (2013). The Norwegian Directorate for Educa-tion and Training. Retrieved November 15, 2013,from http://skoleporten.udir.no/rapportvisning.aspx?enhetsid�10&vurderingsomrade�11&skoletype�0

Valentine, J. C., DuBois, D. L., & Cooper, H. (2004).The relation between self-beliefs and academicachievement: A meta-analytic review. EducationalPsychologist, 39, 111–133. doi:10.1207/s15326985ep3902_3

Vrugt, A. J., Langereis, M. P., & Hoogstraten, J.(1997). Academic self-efficacy and malleability ofrelevant capabilities as predictors of exam perfor-mance. Journal of Experimental Education, 66,61–72. doi:10.1080/00220979709601395

Wang, M.-T., & Holcombe, R. (2010). Adolescents’perceptions of school environment, engagement,and academic achievement in middle school.American Educational Research Journal, 47, 633–662. doi:10.3102/0002831209361209

Zhu, Y. Q., Chen, L. Y., Chen, H. G., & Chern, C. C.(2011). How does Internet information seekinghelp academic performance? The moderating andmediating roles of academic self-efficacy. Com-puters & Education, 57, 2476–2484. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2011.07.006

Zimmerman, B. J. (1990). Self-regulating academiclearning and achievement: The emergence of asocial cognitive perspective. Educational Psychol-ogy Review, 2, 173–201. doi:10.1007/BF01322178

Zimmerman, B. J. (1995). Self-efficacy and educa-tional development. In A. Bandura (Ed.), Self-efficacy in changing societies (pp. 202–231). NewYork, NY: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511527692.009

Zimmerman, B. J., & Bandura, A. (1994). Impact ofself-regulatory influences on writing course attain-ment. American Educational Research Journal,31, 845–862. doi:10.3102/00028312031004845

Received September 3, 2013Revision received January 7, 2014

Accepted January 14, 2014 �

74 HØIGAARD, KOVAC, ØVERBY, AND HAUGEN

Thi

sdo

cum

ent

isco

pyri

ghte

dby

the

Am

eric

anPs

ycho

logi

cal

Ass

ocia

tion

oron

eof

itsal

lied

publ

ishe

rs.

Thi

sar

ticle

isin

tend

edso

lely

for

the

pers

onal

use

ofth

ein

divi

dual

user

and

isno

tto

bedi

ssem

inat

edbr

oadl

y.