A Study on the Mediating Effects of Learning Motivation on the Influence of Teaching Strategies, Learning Environment, Student Grit, and Student Engagement on Student Performance in Aesthetic Education

Abstract

Aesthetic education is an educational approach that promotes the well-rounded development of individuals and plays a crucial role in nurturing a new generation of citizens for the times. This study examines the factors influencing students’ academic performance in aesthetic education programs at higher vocational colleges in Western Guangdong, China. The participants were aesthetic education instructors from seven higher vocational colleges in Western Guangdong. The study focused on six core variables, Teaching Strategies (TS), Learning Environment (LE), Student Engagement (SE), Student Grit (SG), Learning Motivation (LM), and Student Performance (SP). A questionnaire survey method was employed, and a total of 365 valid responses were collected. Data were analyzed using SPSS and AMOS software, and structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to test the research hypotheses and mediating effects. The results indicate that the model fits well (χ²/df = 1.318, CFI = 0.985, TLI = 0.983, RMSEA = 0.030). Teaching strategies (β = 0.262, p < 0.001), learning environment (β = 0.187, p = 0.002), student grit (β = 0.193, p < 0.001), and student engagement (β = 0.170, p = 0.003) all had significant positive effects on learning motivation. Learning motivation had the most significant impact on students’ academic performance (β = 0.342, p < 0.001) and partially mediated the relationship between individual variables and academic performance. The results indicate that both teaching strategies and the learning environment have a significant positive impact on learning motivation, with teaching strategies playing a more prominent role; student engagement and grit play key roles in the learning process and significantly promote the development of learning motivation; learning motivation, in turn, has a significant positive impact on student performance and plays an important mediating role between external contextual variables and student performance.