Addressing Global Challenges – Exploring Socio-Cultural Dynamics and Sustainable Solutions in a

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The impact of students’ academic self-efficacy and learning

motivation on academic achievements in private colleges

Yang Liu*
National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

ABSTRACT: Students at private universities and colleges are generally tired of learning,
truant, obsessed with online games, and lack concentration in their studies. It has a detri-
mental impact on the academic student accomplishments in private colleges as well as uni-
versities. Therefore, on the basis of the research to date, this paper will summarize the causes
of a lack from learning motivation (LM) among students in private colleges, improve stu-
dents’ self-efficacy (SE), and stimulate LM. This study explores whether it affects students’
academic performance (AP), in order to provide reference for identifying the reasons for
insufficient LM among students in private colleges. From the literature review, this paper
concludes that there are a significant number of positive correlations between the SE and the
internal motivation of study. There is a positive, negative, or no correlation between SE and
external motivation from learning. Academic self-efficacy could positively affect and predict
AP. The relationship between the LM and the AP confirms that LM has one certain pre-
dictive effect on the AP, and the positive correlation between intrinsic motivation and the AP
is significant, while the correlation between extrinsic motivation and intrinsic motivation AP
is not significant. Future research can use cross-lag analysis to investigate the longitudinal
relationship between the SE and the motivation regulating and using motivation regulation
policy. The reciprocity relationship model can also be used to consider multiple important
variables together, revealing the impact of multiple variables on the research object, and
clearly showing the internal relationship between variables.

Keywords: Private College Students, Self-efficacy, Learning Motivation, Academic

Performance

1 TOPIC SELECTION BASIS

1.1 Research background and issues

There are significant differences between private and public universities with regard to teaching
form, educational direction, and student organization (Yang et al., 2022; Zhao et al. 1993),
which makes the education of private universities unique (Zhou 2022). The enrollment targets of
private universities are fresh and former high school graduates with low scores in the college
entrance examination. These students’ parents from their original families belong to the middle
class, are busy with work, and pay little attention to their students. Therefore, these students
have low AP and poor learning initiative (Zhao 2020, 2021). Therefore, students in private
universities are not only a part of the social group but also belong to the group of college
students; however, they also have their unique characteristics. Compared to students in public
universities, they have to face more physiological, psychological, and environmental changes

*Corresponding Author: [email protected]

366 DOI: 10.1201/9781032676043-50

and bear more pressure. When these students are not satisfied with the school, they often choose
private universities for studies due to their unsatisfactory college entrance examination results.
This leads to general phenomena such as addiction to online games, aversion to learning, and
skipping classes. Poor learning skills and knowledge and improper learning techniques lead to
unsatisfactory AP and insufficient confidence in employment.
Psychological research suggests that human behavior is always dominated by certain
motivations. Students’ learning achievement motivation is the internal motivation that
directly promotes their learning, while their SE directly affects their LM (Zhao 2019). So far,
the theory of SE has had a lot of success closely related to achievement, goal setting, moti-
vation attribution, self-concept, self-regulated learning, and other theories (Fan et al. 2023;
Li 2021; Lu et al. 2023). The purpose of the paper is to explore whether the SE of the
company’s private undergraduates can affect their AP.

1.2 Significance and purpose of the study

By studying the differences between the SE of students with other academic achievements in
private colleges and universities, as well as the differences in SE between students from
different backgrounds, we can gain a better understanding of the importance of SE to stu-
dents’ LM and achievements. Through discussing relationship between students’ SE, LM,
and AP in personal colleges and higher education, it is very important to improve students’
subjectivity, initiative, and creativity in learning. This can be achieved by promoting inde-
pendent and experiential learning, as well as strengthening the cultivation and education of
internal factors in learning.

2 THEORETICAL RESEARCH ON SE IN ACADEMIC STUDIES

2.1 Theory of SE
Bandura put forward the concept of SE. The article shows that SE refers to the judgment ability,
trust, and subjective feeling of an individual when doing something well (Bandura 1977).
Bandura learned that preious research had focused on people’s reactions to knowledge
acquisition and behavior, but people have forgotten that the process of mastering knowledge
and controlling their own behavior is closely related to each other. For example, people are very
aware and clear about what they are doing, but their performance in action is not as satisfac-
tory as they think. This is because there are internal self-referencing elements that adjust the
relationship between knowledge and behavior. People make judgments about their abilities,
and more importantly, this judgment can affect their behavior and motivation. Therefore,
people’s judgment of their personal abilities plays a very important role in the self-regulation
system. Efficiency beliefs have a significant impact on human behavior and achievement, and
can significantly affect people’s feelings and thinking patterns, as well as awaken their ability to
take action. The sense of SE is that self-confidence and the belief that people have in a specific
field to achieve their goals, and in the later stage formed the basic framework of SE (Bandura
1986). The theory of SE has aroused a large number of psychologists’ research and attention.
Therefore, the research on academic SE is based on Bandura’s thought.

2.2 Scope of academic SE

According to a large number of literatures, the scope of academic SE is that everyone has the
ability to judge and the self-confidence to complete their studies. SE is a very important
viewpoint of Bandura’s social cognitive theory and learning. Because each field has differ-
ences, the abilities and skills required of each person are also different. Thus, people have
different SE in different fields.

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 People made to feel good will constantly strive when encountering problems. People who
feel less effective will give up directly. This is the reaction that a person’s judgment of SE
determines the difference between goals and self-expression. In terms of LM, students with
high SE have high LM, and students with low SE have low motivation for learning. The
expectation of efficacy is confidence in the behaviors required for success (Bandura 1977).
Domestic scholars have also studied the relationship between SE and AP. Wang Lianlian
studied students’ SE from two aspects: English learning ability and learning behavior. So
academic SE is generally divided into two kinds, one is the SE of the learning capacity, and
the other is the SE of learning behavior (Wang 2016). The SE of learning ability refers to
one’s ability to have confidence in completing their studies, achieving good marks, and
avoiding academic failure. Efficacy of learning behavior refers to whether individual stu-
dents can use certain effective learning methods to achieve their learning goals and con-
fidence. A large number of studies have shown that the level of individual SE of students can
directly determine the likelihood of hard learning and is a very important factor in LM.
The academic SE of students in private colleges is significantly lower than that of students
in public colleges. From the factors that affect individual SE, this study found that the main
reason why private students’ academic SE is lower compared to public college students is
because of the influence of failed learning experiences and relatively low social evaluation.
For students in private institutions themselves, the failure of the college entrance examina-
tion has led to doubts about their learning abilities and methods. This kind of setback
experience in learning will weaken the SE of students in private higher education institutions
and universities. At the same time, private colleges and universities have strongly received
widespread attention from the entire society as a new phenomenon. Compared to public
institutions, society’s current evaluation of this new phenomenon is more in a questioning
and wait-and-see stage. Many people still believe that private colleges are not truly educa-
tional institutions. These people believe that only students with poor AP abilities will attend
private schools. Therefore, this prejudice and doubt in society will affect the SE of students
at private colleges and universities, resulting in a lower academic SE of students at private
colleges and universities than students in public colleges and universities.

2.3 Impact of academic SE

In Collins’ experiment in 1982, students with high SE could quickly give up the wrong
algorithm to solve more mathematical problems while solving mathematical problems.
When encountering problems that they have made mistakes in the past, they can do them
again with high accuracy. Huang Shiqing found that students with poor research results gave
up on problem-solving due to a lack of problem-solving skills and confidence. So, SE plays a
very important role in the learning process of the students (Huang 2020).
The following aspects in particular demonstrate the important influence of SE on the
learning process: First, the choice of behavior of students is influenced by SE. In order to
prove that their ability is stronger, and their SE is high, students will choose more difficult
learning tasks. Students with a low SE are more likely to choose easier challenges and
avoid learning tasks that make them feel as if they are difficult. Second, students’ persistence
in learning is influenced by their SE. Students encounter difficulties in learning. The longer
the students with high SE persist, the better effort they make, leading to feel joy in over-
coming difficulties. When the goal cannot be achieved, analyze the reasons for the failure
and create conditions to overcome difficulties and achieve the goal again. Students with low
SE give up facing difficulties and will not think about the reasons for failure. Li also found in
the research that students’ emotional reactions and thinking patterns would also be affected
by SE. Students with high SE will act more, focus all their attention, and effectively use their
ability to achieve goals, and students of high SE will be inspired to more possibilities. The
students with low SE, because of their lack of self-confidence, regard the difficulties as ser-
ious, do not find solutions, and focus on the negative consequences (Li 2021).

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2.4 Main reasons affecting academic SE
Luo summarized the following main factors that have an impact on the formation and change
of academic SE in the study. The experience of success and failure in one’s own behavior is the
learner’s previous experience. Successful experiences can enhance people’s self-confidence and
SE. The experience of repeated failures will lead to a lack of self-confidence and a decrease in
SE. Multiple successful experiences will establish a high level of sense of SE and stability in the
sense of efficacy. This feeling of efficacy will not be reduced by a temporary failure but will
also be generalized to the similar situation. Non-ability factors such as individual effort, dif-
ficulty in achieving goals, external assistance, and attribution of success and failure can all
affect the establishment of SE by influencing one’s own experience of behavioral success or
failure. Second reason is substitute experience. The formation of SE will also be affected by
individual indirectness. For example, when individuals see the success of presenters with the
same level as themselves, SE will be strengthened, and they also believe that they can complete
the same task and achieve success. However, when a presenter at a similar level experiences
failure, the individual’s SE will decrease and they may feel that they will not be successful. The
impact of observational learning on SE is achieved through two different types of cognitive
processes, two cognitive processes are responsible for the effect of observational learning on
SE. Learners use the comparison method with presenters to judge their own abilities based on
their performance, which is the process of social comparison. Learners learn useful problem-
solving methods from the performance of the presenter, enhance their ability to solve pro-
blems, increase the effectiveness of achieving goal success, and thus enhance SE. Third reason
is verbal advice. SE can be changed through suggestions, persuasion, and guidance. This
method is commonly used, but the effect is not satisfactory. To maintain lasting effectiveness,
it is necessary to be influenced by the authoritative identity and credibility of the persuader.
Fourth is activating the emotional state. In special environments, it is easy to activate emo-
tions. Whether emotions can be activated depends on the specific environment that provides
information about personal abilities; the higher the emotion activation level, the lower the
performance SE, the greater the behavioral barrier, and the relatively weaker the expectation
of achievement. For example, overly strong emotions can also hinder behavior and reduce the
expectation of SE (Luo 2019).
To improve the SE of private college students, the following methods can be used for this:
first, encourage students to use their own ability and experience to get right attribution.
Some of the students in schools who fail to pass, attribute their failure to insufficient abilities
or efforts, while others put it down to the complex tasks or poor luck, thereby reducing their
motivation for learning. Teachers should provide motivational guidance to students’ attri-
bution results by analyzing their school achievements so that students can always maintain a
positive sense of academic SE and confidence in learning. Second, use the positive role of
alternative experience to give full play to SE. Through literature review, it is concluded that
alternative experience has a major impact on students’ academic SE. In everyday learning
and life, students compare themselves with others who exhibit similar or similar behaviors to
evaluate their intelligence and abilities. For example, other students easily succeed in doing
this task, and they may feel that it can be accomplished with just a little effort from them-
selves. As long as other students rarely succeed, they will develop a mentality of being not
able to complete it. How teachers can create a positive learning environment, set an example,
enable students to emulate, improve their poor study habits, and achieve better results
through increased exposure to successful role models. Third, using positive language per-
suasion can have a promoting effect on students’ learning. In learning and life, verbal per-
suasion refers to the positive feedback, evaluation, and encouragement of others’ language.
For example, during the learning process of completing their studies, teachers provide
appropriate positive feedback and actively encourage students, which increases their con-
fidence in learning; however, persuasion must be factual and sincere. On the contrary, it will
have a negative impact.

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2.5 Research on students’ SE and AP
The quality of AP is related to SE in a big way, which builds on the conclusions of previous
studies in many areas of education. Both Shenk’s and Bandora’s research suggests that
students’ AP can be accurately predicted by their level of academic SE. High achievers are
SE individuals with high AP. Low achievers are SE individuals with low AP (Schunk 1983).
In the research with middle school students as subjects, Collins observed the connection
between individual SE and performance in real terms; SE was a very important part of the
mathematical problem-solving process for middle school students. Between learning SE and
AP there is a very significant positive correlation. Thomas John et al. conclude that students
with high SE are good at finding problems, overcoming difficulties, and solving problems,
and will achieve good results.
Liu found that students’ AP could be accurately predicted by their level of academic SE.
Many foreign psychologists have made a meta-analysis on whether SE can affect AP in
standardized measurement, experimental design, and student samples (Liu & Hou 2015;
Multon et al. 1991). Students with different levels of SE have very distinct differences, as they
differ in their goal achievement, level of effort, emotional state, personal self-discipline,
academic confidence, and learning methods. Students with a high sense of SE are very active
in all areas, and also very conducive to achieving good results. Just as good AP can be used
as an important standard to identify students’ learning ability, so the level of learning SE can
also be used as an indicator to identify students’ learning ability, and the degree of effort,
optimism, and enthusiasm for the subjects studied, the effectiveness of completing home-
work and other positive or negative effects affect AP. This is a comprehensive summary
based on Egan and Kochak’s research results on SE. Research on engineering students and
science students shows that SE can affect the quality of AP, and high SE can maintain
academic passion, and persistence in learning and achieving high AP.

3 THEORETICAL RESEARCH ON LMS

3.1 Research on LM theory

LM is an internal psychological state that can inspire individuals to engage in purposeful
learning activities. LM can stimulate learning activities, and learning activities can also
strengthen LM. Snarkin believes that external stimuli can trigger an impulsive force towards
behavior, which is motivation. A person’s tendency to learn depends on the strength of the link
established between the previous learning behavior and the stimulus through reinforcement.
Reinforcement can be divided into positive reinforcement (internal and external) and negative
reinforcement based on the nature and purpose of the reinforcement. Positive reinforcement
refers to the appearance of a pleasant stimulus that increases an individual’s behavioral
response. For example, rewards and verbal praise from teachers for a student’s daily perfor-
mance will reinforce that behavior. Methods of positive reinforcement include bonuses,
recognition of grades, praise, improving working conditions and interpersonal relationships,
promotion, assigning challenging tasks, providing opportunities for learning and growth, and
so on. This belongs to external reinforcement. If students want to avoid failing the exam, they
can increase their confidence and emotions through internal reinforcement, and generate more
motivation to study harder. Negative reinforcement refers to the reduction or elimination of
unpleasant stimuli that are applied to a behavior in order to make it continuously repeated.
Methods of negative reinforcement include withdrawal of criticism, punishment, etc.
Sometimes the restoration of reduced rewards is also a form of negative reinforcement.
However, reinforcement theory emphasizes the external forces that trigger learning behavior
but neglects the consciousness and initiative of human learning behavior, so it has limitations.
The activity of learning is an active process, emphasizing the initiative and consciousness
of learning, which is the conclusion of cognitive psychologist Bruner. Bruner refers to the

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LM formed by external rewards as external motivation; the motivation formed by internal
factors such as interest, thirst for knowledge, and curiosity is called internal motivation. The
influence of internal motivation on learning activities is long-lasting. Bruner emphasizes the
importance of internal motivation in balancing external and internal motivation. So, stu-
dents’ learning mainly depends on the satisfaction of individual curiosity and all the suc-
cessful experiences they have gained during the learning process.

3.2 Defining and measuring endogenous and exogenous motivation in learning

An in-depth study of the types and properties of motivation is inseparable from the study of
motivation. Motivation can be divided into two categories: endogenous and exogenous.
Endogenous motivation refers to the tendency of individuals to engage in activities in order
to seek challenges and satisfy related curiosity. Exogenous motivation refers to the tendency
of individuals to engage in activities because of factors other than the activity itself, such as
rewards, recognition and approval from others, successful completion of superior instruc-
tions, and competition with others.
Internationally, the measurement of LM is usually using the LM Scale developed by
Amabile, Hill, Hennessey, and Tighe. It is an effective and reliable tool for distinguishing and
measuring internal and external motivation. The scale has 30 items, with two sub-scales, one
for endogenous motivation and one for exogenous motivation. The scale is a 4-point scale,
with higher scores indicating greater motivation. In 2002, the LM scale developed by Amabile
was revised by Chi and Xin from China, Hill, Hennessey, and Tighe. The revised LM scale can
be divided into two subscales used to measure endogenous motivation (including two dimen-
sions of challenge and enthusiasm) and exogenous motivation (including four dimensions of
reliance on others for evaluation: choice of simple tasks, focus on interpersonal competition,
and pursuit of rewards). For this reason, the multiple reliability and validity indicators of the
two revised subscales of the Chi Liping are very reasonable and used in relevant research on
Chinese subjects (Amabile et al. 1994; Chi & Xin 2006).

3.3 Current status of research on LM of chinese college students

Empirical research focuses on relevant research and intervention research. Intervention
research focuses on attribution training methods. Research on using attribution training to
improve students’ academic achievement motivation is aimed at primary and secondary
school students and is conducted in conjunction with subject-teaching activities (Xie 2019).
Theoretical research and domestic empirical research are mostly related in nature. The above
research explores the impact of different theories and concepts of cognitive motivation on
academic achievement and achievement motivation (Ding 2022; Fan et al. 2023; Lu et al.
2022; Luo & Fang 2022; Wang et al. 2022; Wen & Zeng 2022).
There are many shortcomings in the research on Chinese students’ LM. Most of the
research on LM is focused on Chinese middle school students and primary school students.
There is little research on students with learning difficulties and low SE who have learning
problems. The majority of students in private colleges are students with learning difficulties,
and there is even less research on the LM of students in private colleges. The vast majority of
intervention studies only use attribution training as an intervention method, and attribution
training is aimed at problem students, who have poor adaptive cognition and behavior.
These students tend to attribute failed results to a lack of ability or a tendency not to attri-
bute achievement results to effort. All intervention studies are based on students’ existing
motivation problems and seek effective solutions. Normal students’ LM can also be influ-
enced by other factors, how to maintain students’ positive LM? How should this work be
carried out? These issues are all topics that require attention and research.
China should pay more attention to cultivating and stimulating students’ LM in private
colleges and universities. Due to the influence of the disadvantages of China’s education

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system, especially the examination system, and the influence of pragmatism, utilitarianism,
employment pressure, and other factors in real society, students’ LM makes people feel
shallow. University learning focuses on organizing teaching from a research perspective and
an academic perspective. Students cannot rely solely on instructional activities to stimulate
their LM but can use the influence of mediating cognitive regulatory mechanisms to cultivate
positive LM.
There have been many achievements in the research field of LM, and different research
theories propose different orientations of LM. In the research of Geng Yan, there is no sig-
nificant correlation between the level of SE achieved by students attending private universities
and their exogenous motivation. However, there is a significant correlation between the level
of the SE and the endogenous LM of the SE. The conclusion from the research is that when SE
is high, endogenous LM is high, and when SE is low, endogenous LM is low. Motivation can
be divided into two categories according to its source: endogenous motivation and exogenous
motivation. Exogenous motivation refers to motivation inspired by external forces and the
external environment (i.e., incentives) (Geng & Li 2013). Compared to public institutions,
private colleges in China have different educational systems and management methods. The
system of private colleges is not mature enough compared to public colleges, and students in
relatively weak private colleges may have some comparative psychology toward this. Students
in private colleges will therefore pay more attention to the evaluation of external factors such
as teachers and interpersonal competition in their studies. The research shows that there is no
significant correlation between the level of SE in learning among private university students
and their exogenous motivation, but there is a very significant correlation between them and
their endogenous LM. The relatively consistent correlation between endogenous motivation
and SE in learning, social interaction, job hunting, and other fields indicates that endogenous
motivation may be a stable personality trait of individuals, with consistency across time and
situations, so the internal vivid opportunity affects students’ learning SE. Therefore, only by
improving the students’ SE in learning and enhancing their self-confidence in learning can we
more effectively stimulate the students’ LM in private colleges.

3.4 Research on the relationship between LM and AP

In researching the relationship between LM, learning strategies, and AP, both nationally and
internationally, LM is an important influencing factor. Regarding the study of LM, there is a
considerable amount of research on achievement motivation. Chinese scholar Yu et al. found
that students with higher scores have stronger LM, while students with lower scores have
relatively lower LM. It was found that more engagement in English learning led to higher
grades through multiple linear regression analysis. Less investment in English learning leads to
lower grades (Yu 2022). Kang conducted a survey of students through a questionnaire to
investigate the relationship between LM among high school students, learning strategies, and
how they affect AP. The research results indicate a significant positive correlation between LM
and AP in high school students; the higher the LM and SE of the pupils, the lower the LM and
SE of the students. Motivational regulation strategies can indirectly affect English grades
through partial mediating effects of autonomous learning ability (Kang 2022). Research by Lu
et al. shows that students’ chemistry SE is significantly positively related to their academic
performance in chemistry. Self-regulated learning strategies are positively correlated with
chemical SE in college students. There is a significant positive correlation between self-
regulated learning strategies and academic performance. Self-regulated learning strategies play
a role in the mesomeric effect between chemical SE and chemical academic achievement (Lu
et al. 2022). Hu et al. found through a survey of students at a certain normal university that
students with strong LM achieved higher grades, while students with weak LM achieved lower
grades. LM can promote the improvement of students’ AP, and the impact of minimum
motivation, environmental motivation, achievement motivation, tool motivation, and interest
motivation on students’ AP is increasing (Hu & Dong 2020). After analyzing a large amount

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of literature, it was found that some studies have confirmed that internal motivation has a
significant impact on academic achievement, while others have concluded that external
motivation has no impact or negative impact on students’ AP. Therefore, the following
hypothesis is proposed: there is a positive correlation between the LM of students in higher
education and their academic performance.

4 RESEARCH ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ACADEMIC SE AND LM

The level of an individual’s SE determines his behavioral motivation in the achievement situa-
tion. People with high SE are highly motivated to engage in relevant activities and are willing to
make an effort to find solutions to problems. When the problems encountered are solved, the
individual’s sense of efficacy is confirmed, which maintains motivation. Even when the indivi-
dual occasionally encounters unprecedented difficulties, their confidence in the ability to succeed
also helps overcome the negative aspects of previous operations and induce engine behavior. On
the contrary, people with low SE tend to be unenthusiastic about getting involved, and are
unwilling to make efforts and take corresponding measures to deal with difficulties, which will
reduce their SE. These theories have been confirmed by Bandura’s research.
The research results of Zhang on the relationship between achievement motivation and
SE, learning strategies, and mathematical AP of high school students show that there is a
significant positive correlation between mathematical SE and LM. In theory, LM is closely
related to an individual’s interest, understanding, and perception of difficulty in learning
mathematics. Pupils with high levels of LM have a greater interest in learning mathematics,
a better understanding of mathematics, and a greater likelihood of believing that mathe-
matics is a subject they can grasp (Zhang 2021). After successful experience, LM opportu-
nities promote the improvement of mathematics SE, and experiences of failure can lead to a
decrease in students’ mathematical SE, Gao used a university as an example to study the LM
and SE of students. He found that SE was positively correlated with LM. The higher the SE,
the higher the LM of the students. These studies all show that there is a correlation between
academic SE and LM (Guo 2021).

5 RESEARCH ON THE MEDIATING EFFECT OF STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC SE

ON LM AND AP

Li et al. concluded through the analysis of articles that SE has a significant impact on LM,
and SE has a significant impact on LM. Liu et al. conclude in their article that the research
confirms that SE is a promising approach, LM and school performance had a significantly
positive correlation, with a predictive role. This result can be understood as that if the SE is
high and the students are more involved in their studies, their LM will be constantly
enhanced. For example, someone with a low SE is not going to be interested in studying, will
not look for internal factors, and will only blame the failure on external environmental
factors, which will reduce their LM. Kryshko Olena et al., through research and analysis,
pointed out that academic SE and LM can be considered as internal factors of whether
students have academic achievement. So, it will have an impact on AP. Su pointed out that
students’ AP was greatly influenced by SE through research and analysis. Zhang showed
that a proactive personality is related to higher SE through the results of article research.
High student academic SE will improve LM and AP. Student academic SE plays a mediating
role in academic motivation and AP. From the above analysis, it can be seen from the
relationship between the three main variables that when students have a high sense of SE,
their motivation to learn is higher, the more they invest in learning, the more it will have a
positive impact on their AP (Kryshko et al. 2022; Li & Cao 2021; Liu et al. 2022; Ma 2022;
Su 2021).

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6 SUGGESTIONS

First, the improvement of the SE and LM of students in private colleges is suggested. Students
in private colleges are generally weak in their academic SE and LM. They lack positive eva-
luation of themselves and positive behavior in learning. They are usually addicted to playing
mobile phones and games and focus on surprises before the exam. Therefore, private colleges
and universities should take various forms to help students come out of the shadow of poor
past performance, re-evaluate themselves, recognize themselves, establish confidence in
learning and life, plan their own direction and route, and continue to strive for it. The second
approach is to implement diversified evaluation methods. The theory of multiple intelligences
suggests that everyone is intelligent, but there are differences in the scope and nature of
intelligence. Therefore, the evaluation of students cannot be solely based on their AP in cul-
tural courses. Students from private colleges who perform poorly in high school tend to relax
their studies in cultural courses after entering university; however, this does not mean that the
overall quality of students is low. The fact proves that although some students have average
AP, they have a correct attitude, and meticulous work, and can still master excellent skills,
becoming outstanding professional talents. Therefore, the diversified evaluation methods
adopted by private colleges are a comprehensive evaluation of students and worthy of recog-
nition. The model of flexible entry and exit for the third private education needs to be changed.
The traditional view is that students from general high schools have a higher learning attitude
and AP than students from private colleges, which may be correct in the middle school stage.
However, since entering private universities, the difference between the two has significantly
decreased, especially in terms of LM and AP. Students from general high schools have not
shown advantages, or have not continued to exert their advantages. This may be related to the
current situation where private colleges have a wide range of enrollment and enrollment. Due
to various factors such as geographical location and educational conditions, some schools
have experienced a situation of “no refusal”, greatly reducing the quality of students in private
colleges. At the same time, these students cannot fully immerse themselves in their studies after
entering private colleges and universities. They become addicted to playing with mobile
phones and neglect their studies. The large number of these students forces schools to relax
their conditions and allow students to graduate. That is why we should reform the entrance
exams for private colleges and universities, and strengthen the management, social awareness,
and recognition of private colleges and universities by improving the quality of education.

7 FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS

Cross-lag analysis was used to examine the longitudinal relationship between SE of moti-
vation regulation and the use of motivation regulation strategies. Studying the relationship
between these two motivational regulatory structures has both theoretical and practical
importance. This is an important but less explored aspect of higher education. The per-
spective of the research is to investigate how these two motivational regulatory structures are
vertically related to satisfaction with learning content and satisfaction with coping with
learning-related stress. The repeated measures design not only allows researchers to control
for previous levels of all variables, but also to explore their potential interactions but also
allows the use of the latest modeling techniques to separate the associations between parti-
cipants (in terms of the process of internal change within individuals). This longitudinal
study enriches the process of motivational regulation and its role in academic satisfaction,
and can also explore the relationship between improving students’ SE of motivational reg-
ulation, reducing the frequency of using motivational regulation strategies, and improving
academic satisfaction. In addition, longitudinal research can also investigate whether
improving students’ SE beliefs in the area of motivational regulation is an effective method
and whether it can promote students’ academic satisfaction.

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 An important process of self-regulation is motivational regulation, and previous studies have
mainly relied on cross-sectional data and analysis of differences between participants. Kryshko
et al. concluded that the higher the SE of motivational regulation, the more frequently subjects
used motivational regulation strategies. The study conducted four studies one semester apart to
examine the longitudinal relationship between college students’ SE of motivational adjustment
strategies and their academic achievement (N=574). The random intercept cross-lagged panel
model (RI-CLPMS) was used to distinguish between within-subject correlations (via
stable individual differences) and between-subject correlations (via the process of internal
individual change) of variables. In addition, both types of motivational regulatory structures
are positively correlated with satisfaction with learning content and satisfaction with coping
with learning-related stress. The study found that SE has a significant negative cross-effect on
strategy use at the internal level and vice versa. In addition, the study found that SE has a
significant cross-lagged effect on motivation regulation in both satisfaction dimensions and vice
versa. With regard to the cross-lag effect between the two dimensions of strategy use and
satisfaction, these findings provide preliminary evidence for the correlation between the change
in SE on motivation regulation and the prediction of the change in the frequency of motivation
regulation strategy use and academic achievement. Research has shown that changes in SE and
motivational regulation are correlated in predicting changes in the frequency of using motiva-
tional learning strategies and satisfaction with academic research.
Previous studies have only considered one or two variables while using a reciprocity model
to consider three important variables. This approach not only reveals the impact of these
three variables on the object of study but also uncovers the internal relationship between
them. Unlike existing cross-sectional studies, this research method uses a cross-lagged design
to reveal the longitudinal relationship between these variables. The stability of the interac-
tion was confirmed.
Du et al. investigated the relationship between mathematics interest, mathematics anxiety,
mathematics SE and mathematics performance based on longitudinal data. This paper
examines the longitudinal relationship between multiple intelligences, AP, SE, and mathe-
matical performance, and the cross-lag effect between multiple intelligences, AP, and SE. It
reveals the positive influence of mathematical performance on the subsequent intelligence
test, and the positive relationship between mathematical achievement and mathematical
performance, SE and mathematical performance, and between mathematical performance
and SE. In addition, previous MA and MSE can predict future MI. Compared to previous
studies that considered different variables separately, this study focused on three important
variables simultaneously. This study revealed a more realistic relationship between these
variables and improved the survey’s ecological validity results.

8 CONCLUSION

The relationship between academic SE and LM has been the subject of much research in
recent years. Hundreds of studies have been carried out. For the correlation between two
variables, due to differences in object hierarchy and categories, the correlation between
variables will also be different. From the previous literature review, many research results
show that the correlation between SE and learning intrinsic motivation is significantly
positive, while research shows that the correlation between SE and learning is both positive
and negative or not significant, extrinsic motivation is not significantly correlated. In the
research objects, because the grades are different, the gender is different, and the family
environment is different, the correlation between the LM and the SE will be different as well.
There is a positive correlation between the results of the research on academic SE and
Ipswich can predict AP. The research results on the correlation between LM and AP indicate
that LM has a predictive effect on AP, and intrinsic motivation is positively correlated with
AP. Extrinsic motivation is not significantly correlated with AP.

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 Most of the existing studies focus on the correlation between the three variables of aca-
demic SE, LM, and AP of university students and primary and secondary school students,
while there is less research on the correlation between the three variables of private college
students. Due to the current overall education situation in China, there are many differences
in the attitude, goals, and motivation of students in private colleges in comparison with
college students, secondary school students, and primary school students. Middle school and
primary school students need to improve their education, and the school has very strict
requirements for them. Overall, students are very serious, hardworking, and have strong
LM. After the baptism of the college entrance examination, although college students gen-
erally have lower learning attitudes than middle school and primary school students, they are
better at internalizing motivation and understanding the meaning of learning than students
from private colleges. The majority of students from private colleges and universities now
have poor student quality. Generally speaking, students in private colleges do not enjoy
learning, lack scientific learning methods, have poor analytical skills, and are immature in
thinking. Because there is little research on the correlation among the three variables of SE,
LM, and AP of students in private colleges, it is necessary to research the correlation
between academic SE, LM, and AP of students attending private colleges.

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