Academic Buoyancy, Student's Achievement, and the Linking Role of Control: A Cross-Lagged Analysis of High School Students

Background: Previous research has indicated that although academic buoyancy and student's achievement are associated, the relationship is relatively modest. Aims: We sought to determine whether another construct might link academic buoyancy and student's achievement. Based on prior theoretical and empirical work, we examined a sense of control as one possible linking mechanism. Sample: The study analysed data from 2,971 students attending 21 Australian high schools. Methods: We conducted a cross-lagged panel design as a first means of disentangling the relative salience of academic buoyancy, control, and achievement (Phase 1). Based upon these results, we proceeded with follow-up analyses of an ordered process model linking the constructs over time (Phase 2). Results: Findings showed that buoyancy and achievement were associated with control over time, but not with one another (Phase 1). In addition, control appeared to play a role in how buoyancy influenced achievement and that a cyclical process may operate among the three factors over time (Phase 2). Conclusion: The findings suggest that control may play an important role in linking past experiences of academic buoyancy and achievement to subsequent academic buoyancy and achievement.