Self-efficacy, Anxiety, Positive Affect, and Students' Expected Grades in the Context of the Bachelor Exam

Identifying variables that impact students' grades is a constant concern but also a challenge for teachers in the field of educational sciences. The study investigates the association between self-efficacy, positive affect, anxiety, and students' expected grades before the final exam of bachelor university studies. The study is based on Pekrun's (2006) control-value theory, and it aims to investigate the relationship between self-efficacy, anxiety, positive affect, and students' expected grades. Specifically, the study seeks to understand how anxiety mediates the relationship between self-efficacy and expected grades and how positive affect mediates the positive relationship between self-efficacy and anxiety levels. The study was conducted on 170 students from Primary and Preschool Education Pedagogy and Orthodox Pastoral Theology studying at a state university in Romania. The students completed the assessment tools that assess the research variables: general self-efficacy, positive affect, anxiety - as a self-regulated learning strategy - and the student's expected grade in the bachelor exam. The results of the structural equation modeling indicate that the level of self-efficacy has an impact on student anxiety levels. This anxiety, in turn, negatively influences the expected grades that students predict before taking the assessment tests required to complete their bachelor's studies. Therefore, anxiety acts as a mediator between self-efficacy and expected grades. Additionally, the results show that the relationship between self-efficacy and anxiety is mediated by positive affect. These findings emphasize the importance of effective teaching and learning methods that promote academic success.