Day 124 MCAT Practice Question

Passage 2

Preventing academic burnout and desertion is a problem that must be addressed

in university teaching…to counteract these negative effects on university students,

several studies have highlighted the importance of devising learning strategies

that foster academic engagement, as this is a significant component in preventing

academic dropout. It is essential that students express engagement with their

studies since it has been proven that academic engagement not only increases

their probabilities of successfully completing their studies but also improves their

learning during corporate internships. In this line, several studies have underscored

the importance of variables such as academic self-efficacy and emotional

intelligence to improve academic engagement.

The aim of this study was to analyze academic self-efficacy as a mediator between

emotional intelligence and academic engagement.

A non-experimental, cross-sectional, correlational-causal study was designed in

which 1,164 Mexican students participated (Mage=21.21; SD=3.26) (30.0% female;

69.6% male; 0.4% other). The scales of emotional intelligence, academic selfefficacy and academic engagement were used, and a structural equation analysis

with latent variables was conducted.

The results obtained demonstrate that emotional clarity and repair have a positive

and direct effect on academic self-efficacy. In addition, emotional repair predicts

behavioral and emotional engagement. It was also found that academic selfefficacy is an excellent mediator between emotional clarity and repair, and the

dimensions of academic engagement, as it substantially improves behavioral and

emotional engagement while decreasing behavioral and emotional disaffection.

In conclusion, it can be attested that emotional clarity and repair have a direct and

positive effect on academic self-efficacy, as do emotional repair on behavioral

and emotional engagement, and emotional attention on behavioral engagement.

However, academic self-efficacy is an excellent mediator between emotional

intelligence and the dimensions of academic engagement, as it substantially

improves behavioral and emotional engagement while decreasing behavioral and

emotional disaffection. Finally, teachers should present students with different

learning strategies that teach them how to be efficient in their learning and to

understand the feelings they experience, remediating potential negative emotions

derived from frustrations or unattained achievements in order to face future

academic situations.

Mediation of academic self-efficacy between emotional intelligence and academic

engagement in physical education undergraduate students. Adapted from Baños

et al. (2023)

Suppose this study analyzed participants’ ability to quickly identify universal

emotions as a way of assessing their emotional intelligence. Which of the

following is not considered to be a universal emotion?

A) Fear

B) Contempt

C) Anger

D) Loneliness