Published Online:March 2026
Product Name:The IUP Journal of Soft Skills
Product Type:Article
Product Code:IJSS010326
DOI:10.71329/IUPJSS/2026.20.1.34-54
Author Name:Ibrahim Ojo Rasheed
Availability:YES
Subject/Domain:Management
Download Format:PDF
Pages:34-54
Academic engagement is an extensively researched concept that involves multiple constructs, including behavioral, affective, and cognitive aspects. This research explores the relationship between academic engagement and psychological wellbeing among students from secondary schools, with epistemological beliefs serving as a moderator. A cross-sectional survey design was employed, and a total of 462 respondents were chosen via a stratified random sampling approach. Academic engagement, psychological wellbeing, and epistemological beliefs were assessed through standardized and validated questionnaires. Quantitative analysis included descriptive and inferential statistics. A statistically significant positive correlation was found between academic engagement and psychological wellbeing. Epistemological beliefs moderated this relationship, meaning that students who held constructive epistemological beliefs benefited from academic engagement. Overall, the results suggest that academic engagement positively impacts students’ psychological wellbeing, especially when it is reinforced by epistemological beliefs.
The psychological wellbeing of adolescents attending secondary schools has recently attracted considerable attention from education psychologists, policy makers, and counselors, especially in low- and middle-income countries, where these adolescents have to contend with a variety of problems. For example, secondary schools in Nigeria contain a considerable number of adolescents who are in the developmental stage.