School Psychology Quarterly

2015, Vol. 30, No. 1, 64 74

2014 American Psychological Association

1045-3830/15/$12.00 DOI: 10.1037/spq0000056

Academic Self-Efficacy Mediates the Effects of School

Psychological Climate on Academic Achievement
Rune Higaard, Velibor Bobo Kovac, Nina Cecilie verby, and Tommy Haugen

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University of Agder
This study investigated the effects of proximal and distal constructs on adolescents
academic achievement through self-efficacy. Participants included 482 ninth- and tenth- grade
Norwegian students who completed a questionnaire designed to assess school-goal
orientations, organizational citizenship behavior, academic self-efficacy, and academic
achievement. The results of a bootstrapping technique used to analyze relationships
between the constructs indicated that school-goal orientations and organizational citizenship predicted academic self-efficacy. Furthermore, school-goal orientation, organizational citizenship, and academic self-efficacy explained 46% of the variance in
academic achievement. Mediation analyses revealed that academic self-efficacy mediated the effects of perceived task goal structure, perceived ability structure, civic virtue,
and sportsmanship on adolescents academic achievements. The results are discussed in
reference to current scholarship, including theories underlying our hypothesis. Practical
implications and directions for future research are suggested.
Keywords: school psychological environment, citizenship behavior, academic self-efficacy,
academic achievement

The potential for education to assist in efforts

to fulfill a students ambitions by providing
environments designed to promote their positive development, including their cognitive abilities, is indisputable. Adolescents are in a sensitive developmental period in which social
comparisons and identity formation generally
are prominent. Furthermore, this period can be

especially demanding while attempting to maintain an academic focus while also struggling
with competing challenges (e.g., rapid physical
changes, sex role orientation) that may create
impediments to their academic development
and general psychosocial adjustment (Hardy,
Bukowski, & Sippola, 2002; Larson, Moneta,
Richards, & Wilson, 2002; Rusby, Forrester,
Biglan, & Metzler, 2005).
The importance of academic self-efficacy and
psychological climate on academic achievement is well established. Higher levels of academic self-efficacy are important, perhaps even
critical, to attaining desired high levels of academic performance (Bandura, 1997; Schunk,
Pintrich, & Meece, 2010; Vrugt, Kangereis, &
Hoogstraten, 1997). Moreover, the presence of
a task-oriented and supportive learning environment also seems to be important for high academic achievement (Eccles et al., 1993; Maehr
& Anderman, 1993; Midgley, 1993; Wang &
Holcombe, 2010).
However, solely personal processes (Bandura, 1997; Schunk et al., 2010) may not determine self-efficacy. Self-efficacy may also be
influenced by environmental and behavioral
events within the school, including a schools
psychological climate (Bandura, Caprara, Bar-

This article was published Online First April 7, 2014.

Rune Higaard, Department of Public Health, Sport, and
Nutrition, Faculty of Health and Sport Sciences, University
of Agder, Kristiansand, Norway; Velibor Bobo Kovac, Department of Education, Faculty of Humanities and Education, University of Agder; Nina Cecilie verby, Department
of Public Health, Sport, and Nutrition, Faculty of Health and
Sport Sciences, University of Agder; Tommy Haugen, Department of Public Health, Sport, and Nutrition, Faculty of
Health and Sport Sciences, University of Agder.
This study is a part of a larger study of school achievement conducted jointly by the University of Agder and
Srlandet Resource Centre in Norway. The authors thank
personnel at the Srlandet Resource Centre as well as the
principals, staff, and students at the four participating
schools for their support.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Rune Higaard, University of Agder, Department
of Public Health, Sport, and Nutrition, Faculty of Health and
Sport Sciences, Service Box 422, No-4604 Kristiansand,
Norway. E-mail: rune.hoigaard@uia.no
64

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EFFECTS OF SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGICAL CLIMATES

baranelli, Pastorelli, & Regali, 2001). Selfefficacy is an important mediator of academic

achievement (Diseth, 2011; Zhu, Chen, Chen,
& Chern, 2011; Zimmerman & Bandura, 1994).
However, the extent to which self-efficacy may
also mediate relationships between school environments and academic achievement has seemingly not been examined. This study investigates relationships among middle-school
students perceptions of their learning environment, self-efficacy beliefs, and academic
achievement. The mediating role of academic
self-efficacy in the relationship between perceived school psychological climate and academic achievement is also examined.
School Psychological Climate and Learning
Achievements
Students characterize a schools psychological climate in light of their personal perceptions
of its proximal and distal qualities (Roeser,
Midgley, & Urdan, 1996). Students perceptions of the dominant learning goal orientations
that their school tends to display constitutes the
distal qualities of a schools psychological climate. According to achievement goal theory
(Ames, 1992a, 1992b; Nicholls, 1989; Roberts,
2001), students often perceive and define their
schools social and learning context in one of
two fundamentally opposite orientations. One
focuses on mastery orientation. It promotes
adaptive functioning that helps and supports the
learning contexts. For example, teachers using
mastery orientation tend to promote a learning
atmosphere that stimulates students intrinsic
motivation, personal efforts, and general improvement. In contrast, another focuses on performance orientation. Its atmosphere is more
competitive and draws distinctions between
correct and incorrect performance. Teachers using a performance orientation tend to promote
rivalry and competition, compare students, and
suppress intrinsic motivation (Duda & Whitehead, 1998).
Organizational citizenship behavior (OCB)
exemplifies proximal aspects of an environments psychological climate. At first, OCB
was defined as an individual behavior that is
discretionary, not directly or explicitly recognized by the formal reward system, and that in
the aggregate promotes the effective functioning of the organization (Organ, 1988, p. 4).

65

Later, the definition was modified to performance that supports the social and psychological environment in which task performance
takes place (Organ, 1997, p. 95). The more
recent definition explicitly associates OCB with
task performances regardless of the effect of
potential formal rewards.
The concept of OCB, developed originally
for use in organizational psychology contexts,
has been subject to considerable research (e.g.,
Podsakoff, Blume, Whiting, & Podsakoff,
2009), and its conceptually distinct dimensions
are identified (Organ, 1988, 1990; Organ, Podsakoff, & MacKenzie, 2006). Current scholarship focuses on three main dimensions (Podsakoff, Ahearne, & MacKenzie, 1997):
sportsmanship (e.g., the willingness to tolerate
the inevitable inconveniences and impositions
of work without complaining), civic virtue (e.g.,
responsive, constructive involvement in the organization), and helping behavior (e.g., voluntarily helping others with an organizationally
relevant task or problem). Thus, OCB is viewed
as an essential part of an organization. Organizational citizenship contributes to several important organizational outcomes, including motivation, productivity, performance, and job
satisfaction (see Organ et al., 2006 and Podsakoff et al., 2009 for overviews).
Some studies investigated OCB in a school
context from the perceptions of teachers and
school leaders (e.g., Koh, Steers, & Terborg,
1995). In addition, a study of university students found a positive association between
OCB and academic achievement, consistent
with findings generally observed in business
settings (Allison, Voss, & Dryer, 2001). Thus,
the belief that OCB also may exert an influence
on secondary school achievement seems tenable.
Academic Self-Efficacy and Academic
Achievement
Self-efficacy refers to self-beliefs about the
degree of perceived self-control over future actions. Self-efficacy is linked to ones actual performance in a specific domain (Maddux & Gosselin, 2003). Self-efficacy beliefs comprise a
component of a persons global self-concept
and typically refer to an individuals ability to
successfully perform a certain task (Huang,
2011; Sanchez & Roda, 2003). Personal abili-

HIGAARD, KOVAC, VERBY, AND HAUGEN

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66

ties vary substantially across different behaviorswe are good at some things and not good
at other things. The effect of self-efficacy is
better understood when its assessment is domain-specific rather than focused on more general behaviors (Bandura, 1986, 1997; Multon,
Brown, & Lent, 1991; Valentine, DuBois, &
Cooper, 2004). Thus, the assessment of selfefficacy usually focuses on specific domains
(Bandura, 1997). The direct effect of selfefficacy in predicting subsequent behavior in
general is well documented (e.g., Bandura, Caprara, Barbaranelli, Gerbino, & Pastorelli,
2003; Caprara, Barbaranelli, Pastorelli, & Cervone, 2004). Moreover, its effect on academic
achievements is well documented (Bandura,
Barbaranelli, Caprara, & Pastorelli, 1996;
Chemers, Hu, & Garcia, 2001; Greene, Miller,
Crowson, Duke, & Akey, 2004; Pintrich & DeGroot, 1990; Schunk, 1994; Sharma & Silbereisen, 2007; Zimmerman & Bandura, 1994).
Academic self-efficacy refers to personal beliefs about ones ability to organize and execute
actions to attain desired levels of academic performance (Zimmerman, 1995). Academic selfefficacy beliefs relate positively to academic
performances, achievements, and efforts (Multon et al., 1991), including those for middleschool students (Britner & Pajares, 2006; Pajares, Britner, & Valiante, 2000). The strength
of ones self-efficacy during middle school is
important. Those with higher levels are likely to
succeed now and are better prepared for later
academic and vocational challenges (Bandura et
al., 2001; Zimmerman, 1990). In contrast, those
with lower levels are likely to do less well

academically now and later and to display other

difficulties (e.g., antisocial behaviors) (Bandura, 1997; Bandura et al., 1996; Bandura et al.,
2001). Although the direct effects of selfefficacy on academic achievement are impressive and well documented, the role of selfefficacy as a mediator has not been explored
widely. Banduras (1986) belief that selfefficacy may mediate the effects of other selfbeliefs on subsequent performance helps guide
this research (see also Bandura, 1997; Zimmerman, 1995; Zimmerman & Bandura, 1994).
The purpose of this study is to investigate the
effects of proximal and distal qualities on academic success among Norwegian middleschool students (see Figure 1). The following
three hypothesized are tested: (a) proximal and
distal qualities associated with school psychological climate will predict self-efficacy, (b)
self-efficacy will have the strongest effect on
academic achievement, and (c) self-efficacy
mediates the effects of proximal/distal qualities
of school psychological climate on academic
achievement.
Method
Participants
Norwegian ninth- and tenth-grade students
(i.e., approximately 14 15 years old) who attended one of four secondary schools in three
different municipalities in Vest-Agder County
were invited to participate. The schools were
selected by the Srlandet Resource Centre to
well represent the county by including urban

ab path
(indirect effect)
PTGS

a path

ASE

b path

PAGS
OCB-H

c (total effect)
AA

OCB-CV
OCB-S

c (direct effect)

Figure 1. The hypothesized mediation model. PTGS perceived task goal structure;
PAGS perceived ability goal structure; OCB organizational citizenship behavior; H
helping behavior; CV civic virtue; S sportsmanship; ASE academic self-efficacy,
AA academic achievement.

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EFFECTS OF SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGICAL CLIMATES

and rural communities. The sample is one characterized by convenience. The principals of four
schools, two urban and two rural, contacted by
the Srlandet Resource Centre agreed to participate. Six hundred twenty-five students were
invited to participate, and 482 students returned
their questionnaires (a participation rate of
77%), among which 475 included all needed
data and 7 were excluded because of their many
shortcomings. The final sample included 49%
males with a mean age of 14.6 years for both
sexes.
Procedure
The students completed the questionnaire
during a school class and under the supervision
of a project worker. Students were informed
that their responses were anonymous and that
their participation was voluntary. The students
received oral and written instructions on how to
complete the questionnaire. Project workers answered student questions. Students returned the
completed questionnaires in a sealed envelope
to the project worker. Institutional ethics approval was obtained according to the Srlandet
Resource Centre institutional procedures.
Measurements
School goal orientation. The School Goal
Scale (SGS; Roeser et al., 1996) was used to
measure students perceptions of the school
psychological climate. This scale consists of
two subscales. The perceived task goal structure
scales six items assess students perceptions of
their schools emphasis on effort, understanding, and the belief that all students can learn and
be successful (i.e., a reflection of mastery orientation). An item example follows: In this
school, understanding the work is more important than getting the right answers. The scales
coefficient was 0.81. The perceived ability
goal structure scales six items assess students
perceptions that relative ability is a salient and
rewarded marker of success in the school and
that higher achieving students are treated better
than other students (i.e., a reflection of performance orientation). An item example follows:
In this school, teachers treat kids who get good
grades better than other kids. The scales
coefficient was 0.81. All items were measured
using a 5-point Likert scale (1 not at all true
in this school, 5 very true in this school).

67

Thus, higher values reflect a stronger perception

of the measured goal structure.
OCB. The OCB scales 13 items assess students perception of citizenship behavior in the
class (Podsakoff et al., 1997). The scales items
were adapted to better suit students in educational settings. The scale assessed three types of
OCB. The helping behavior scale used seven
items to assess students discretionary behaviors that help other students with a schoolrelevant task or problem. An item example follows: Students in my class help other students
if they fall behind in his or her schoolwork.
The scales coefficient was 0.88. The civic
virtue scale uses three items to assess the degree
students are responsible for participating or being involved in or are concerned about behavior
in the class. An item example follows: Provide
constructive suggestions about how students
can improve learning in class. The scales
coefficient was 0.77. The Sportsmanship scale
used three items to assess student willingness to
tolerate less-than-ideal circumstances without
complaining. An item example follows: Always focus on what is wrong with our situation,
rather than the positive sidean item that was
reverse scored. The scales coefficient was
0.70.
All subscales were rated on a 7-point Likerttype scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to
7 (strongly agree). Thus, higher values indicated higher levels of each type of OCB.
Academic self-efficacy. The academic
self-efficacy scale (Roeser et al., 1996) was
used to measure students academic selfefficacy. The scales six items assess whether
students believe they could master the academic
material and skills if they were provided sufficient time and exerted sufficient effort. An item
example follows: If I have enough time, I can
do a good job on all my schoolwork. The
coefficient for the scale was 0.92. Items were
assessed on a 5-point scale ranging from 1 (not
at all true of me) to 5 (very true of me). Thus,
higher values indicate higher levels of academic
self-efficacy.
Academic
achievement. Academic
achievement was measured by asking students
to report their grade point averages in three core
academic subjects: mathematics, Norwegian,
and English languages. The scale used in these
schools ranges from 1 (lowest academic grade)
to 6 (highest academic grade).

HIGAARD, KOVAC, VERBY, AND HAUGEN

68

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Statistical Analyses

Results

The concept of mediation may be explained

as a third variable that represents the mechanism through which the independent variable
influences an outcome (i.e., a dependent variable). Mediation analyses can be used to test a
theory on the terms of the process by which a
given effect is produced (Preacher & Hayes,
2004). The Preacher and Hayes (2004) bootstrapping technique for mediation analysis was
used to test the hypothesized model while also
controlling for covariates. Bootstrapping refers
to a nonparametric resampling procedure to test
the null hypothesis for indirect effects. Bootstrapping involves repeated extraction with replacement of samples from the data set (in the
study presented here, the number of bootstrap
samples is 20,000) and the estimation of the
indirect effect in each resampled data set. In
extensive sets of simulations, MacKinnon,
Lockwood, Hoffman, West, and Sheets (2002)
examined the performance of different methods
for testing mediation to assess their Type I error
rates and power. They recommended the use of
the distribution of the product approach or bootstrapping over the Sobel test or causal steps
approach on the grounds that the former have
higher power while maintaining reasonable
control over the Type I error rate. In addition to
normal theory regression procedures, the bootstrapping technique produces point estimates
and bias-corrected confidence intervals for the
indirect effect. A biased-corrected confidence
interval not including zero indicates a statistically significant mediation.

Descriptive statistics and correlation coefficients are reported in Table 1. Correlations

among perceived task goal structure, academic self-efficacy, and academic achievement were positive. In contrast, correlation
among perceived ability goal structure, academic self-efficacy, and academic achievement were negative. Two OCB subscales,
helping behavior and civic virtue, were positively related to academic self-efficacy and
academic achievement. However, the third
subscale, sportsmanship, was unrelated to academic self-efficacy and was negatively related to academic achievement.
The Mediator ModelPredicting Academic
Self-Efficacy
Data pertaining to the effect of distal/
proximal qualities of the school psychological
climate on academic achievement through academic self-efficacy are shown in Table 2. When
investigating the mediator model (i.e., the effect
of the predictors on the mediator; a path in
Figure 1), the school-task goal structure,
school-ability goal structure, and two of the
three OCB subscales (i.e., civic virtue and
sportsmanship) individually predicted academic
self-efficacy. More specifically, perceived ability goal structure and sportsmanship were inversely related to academic self-efficacy
whereas perceived task goal structure and civic
virtue were positively related to academic selfefficacy.

Table 1
Descriptive Statistics of Variables and Correlations
M
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

PTGS
PAGS
OCB-H
OCB-CV
OCB-S
ASE
AA

3.59
2.58
4.20
4.35
4.20
3.90
3.85

SD
0.75
1.01
1.17
1.30
1.30
0.91
0.87

.30

.40
.10

.39
.12
.63

.01
.29
.13
.02

.38
.22
.34
.45
.06

.18
.18
.23
.29
.16
.64

Note. PTGS perceived task goal structure; PAGS perceived ability goal structure; OCB organizational citizenship
behavior; H helping behavior; CV civic virtue; S sportsmanship; ASE academic self-efficacy; AA academic
achievement.

p .05.

EFFECTS OF SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGICAL CLIMATES

69

Table 2
Investigating Indirect Effects. Dependent Variable: Academic Achievement

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Outcome Modelb
Indirectf

Mediator
Modela

Total

Direct

PE (SE)c

PE (SE)c

PE (SE)c

Predictors
PTGS
.206 (.061)
.026 (.062)
.095 (.051)
PAGS
.157 (.044)
.158 (.044)
.066 (.036)
OCB-H
.053 (.045)
.028 (.046)
.003 (.039)
OCB-CV
.217 (.040)
.156 (.040)
.028 (.034)
OCB-S
.090 (.033)
.126 (.033)
.073 (.027)
Mediator
ASE
.591 (.041)
Covariates
Age
.079 (.058)
Gender
.285 (.064)
2
Full model summary: R .46, F (df1, df2) 42.97 (8,407), p .01.

BC 95% CIg
PE (SE)c

LL

UL

.121 (.041)
.093 (.033)
.032 (.001)
.129 (.001)
.053 (.022)

.044
.160
.019
.077
.095

.205
.030
.086
.182
.011

Note. PTGS perceived task goal structure; PAGS perceived ability goal structure; OCB organizational citizenship
behavior; H helping behavior; CV civic virtue; S sportsmanship; ASE academic self-efficacy; DV dependent
variable; IV independent variable; M mediator.
a
Effect of IV on M: a-path. b Effect of IV and M on DV. c Bootstrapped point estimate (standard error). d Effect of
IV on DV (before entering the M; c-path). e Effect of IV on DV (not via the M: c-path). f Effect of IV on DV through
M: ab-path. g Bias-corrected 95% confidence interval (those not including zero in bold). LL lower limit; UL upper
limit.

p .01 statistically significant point estimate.

The Outcome ModelPredicting Academic

Achievement
Taken together, the model explained 46% of
the variation in academic achievement. When
investigating the total effects (i.e., before entering the mediator; c path in Figure 1) from the
predictors to academic achievement, results revealed that perceived ability goal structure predicted academic achievement inversely, civic
virtue positively, and sportsmanship inversely.
Furthermore, when entering the mediator, only
one direct effect, sportsmanship, (c path in
Figure 1) remained statistically significant. In
addition, academic self-efficacy positively predicted academic achievement. Moreover, one
covariate, gender, independently predicted academic achievement: girls achieved higher than
boys (see Table 2).
Indirect Effects on Academic Achievement
Through Self-Efficacy
The possible indirect effects of the multiple
predictors on academic achievement through
academic self-efficacy were investigated. All

indirect paths were significant (biased-corrected

confidence interval not including zero) except
helping behavior (Table 2). In other words,
higher levels of perceived task goal structure
and civic virtue predicted higher levels of academic achievement through higher academic
self-efficacy. Furthermore, higher levels of perceived ability goal structure and sportsmanship
predicted lower levels of academic selfefficacy, which in turn predicted lower levels of
academic achievement.
Discussion
The aim of the study presented here was to
investigate the effects of proximal and distal
factors on academic achievement through selfefficacy in Norwegian middle-school students.
Academic self-efficacy stands out as a strong
predictor of academic achievement. This finding is consistent with previous research (Bandura, 1997; Schunk et al., 2010; Vrugt et al.,
1997). The important effect of academic beliefs
on academic achievement is well documented.
An examination of the indirect effect of school

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70

HIGAARD, KOVAC, VERBY, AND HAUGEN

and classroom psychological climates on academic achievement through academic selfefficacy finds that self-efficacy mediates the effect of perceived task and ability goal structure,
civic virtue, and sportsmanship on academic
achievement. More specifically, academic
achievement is affected through increased academic self-efficacy when students perceived the
school climate to be task-oriented and aimed
toward civic virtue. In contrast, academic
achievement is affected negatively through decreased academic self-efficacy when school climate is perceived to be sportsmanship- and ability-oriented.
More specifically, students report higher levels of academic achievement when they perceive the school psychological climate to be
task-oriented and display a higher level of academic self-efficacy. The opposite relationship
emerges for students who perceive the school
climate as ability-oriented; students perceiving
the school psychological climate to be abilityoriented typically displayed lower levels of academic self-efficacy and, in turn, lower levels of
academic achievement.
These results are consistent with prior
achievement goal research (Roberts, 2001; Schunk et al., 2010), which shows a consistent and
systematic relational pattern between achievement goals and behavioral, emotional, and cognitive outcomes. An emphasis on growthoriented learning processes fosters a higher
intrinsic motivation for learning, more effective
cognitive learning strategies, and less anxiety in
the learning environment. The importance of
autonomy, competence, and relatedness in promoting self-efficacy and academic achievement
has been highlighted elsewhere (Niemiec &
Ryan, 2009). In contrast, a focus on ability,
grades, and competition among students and
sorting students into ability groups may diminish academic efficacy and subsequently lower
academic performance (Benware & Deci, 1984;
Tsai, Kunter, Ldtke, Trautwein, & Ryan,
2008). However, under some conditions, high
achievers benefit from an ability-oriented climate (Schunk et al., 2010).
OCB constitutes a set of important qualities
that affect organizational performance, effectiveness, and job satisfaction (Organ et al.,
2006; Podsakoff et al., 2009). We found that
OCB indirectly affects academic achievement
through academic self-efficacy. The perception

of high levels of civic virtue in the classroom

may reflect an environment that is characterized
by positive task feedback and interaction among
students in a supporting and stimulating atmosphere. Such behavior and atmosphere may promote academic self-efficacy and academic
achievement (Bandura, 1997; Schunk et al.,
2010).
However, somewhat surprisingly, sportsmanships influence on academic achievement is
negative through academic self-efficacy. In contrast, sportsmanship has been linked in the OCB
literature to effectiveness and organizational
performance because it indicates less complaining about trivial matters and a greater willingness to make the best of unhelpful situations
(Organ et al., 2006). Such behaviors seemingly
harmonize situations that otherwise could be
quasi-litigious and thus wasteful of time and
effort. The fact that there is a direct link between academic self-efficacy and achievement
in the school contexts may help account for the
negative relationship between sportsmanship
and academic self-efficacy and academic
achievement in this study. Sportsmanship is according to Organ et al. (2006) related to things
people choose not to do (e.g. complaining). Not
complaining can have a positive effect on organizational effectiveness because it represents a
generalized willingness to make the best of the
situation (Organ et al. 2006).
In a school context, students complaining
about, opposition to, and critical evaluation of
the learning environment may reflect their involvement and critical thinking. Students believe their voiced concerns are taken seriously
and that their suggestions are important when
teachers listen carefully and respond interactively and constructively to their critical complaints. In line with such reasoning, this may
influence students academic self-efficacy. Furthermore, student complaints and critical comments also may contribute to positive changes
in the learning environment, leading to improve
efficacy and achievement.
Limitations
Some limitations characterize this study.
First, although the schools were selected to be
representative of the county by including urban
and rural communities, the participants in the
study presented here nevertheless represent a

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EFFECTS OF SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGICAL CLIMATES

convenient sample. Second, the study was fully

correlational in nature, which sets limits for
making conclusive statements in terms of causality when discussing relations between the
study variables. Additional longitudinal research that follows and measures important
variables over time is needed to provide an
insight to the causal processes that influence
academic achievement. Furthermore, one may
argue that this study includes variables from
multiple levels of measurement (Martin, Bobis,
Anderson, Way, & Vellar, 2011). The school
psychological climate may be considered to be
level 2 measures (i.e., school-level data), which
warrant multilevel analyses of the research
question of interest. The usual assumption when
using regression models is that individual observations are independent. This assumption
may not be true when using nested structures
like those in this study. As a consequence, the
effects from pooled estimates may be underestimated. We regretfully have no information
about what class of school the participants attend. In other words, the study presented here
cannot take this possible clustering effect into
account. This fact should be considered when
interpreting the results.
Third, the study presented here relies on selfreported grade point averages as indications of
academic achievement. Although the use of
self-reported grades is fairly common in educational research, this practice has been criticized
on methodological grounds (Kuncel, Marcus
Cred, & Thomas, 2005). However, despite the
criticism, Kuncel and colleagues acknowledge
that practical difficulties often exist when attempting to obtain school transcripts. They also
recognize that self-reported grades can be used,
but with caution. In the study presented here, we
asked participants to report their grades in three
key subjects: math and Norwegian and English
languages. All three variables showed a clear
pattern of normal distribution with average
means centered close to the arithmetical mean
of the 6-point scale. Furthermore, this pattern of
self-reported grades corresponds to the distribution of school-reported grades obtained from
educational administrators in the municipality,
thus strengthening the validity of our measure
(Udir, 2013). Moreover, the prediction of academic achievement is a complex issue, and several other relevant variables (e.g., the pupils
intelligence, self-regulation ability, self-

71

concept, socioeconomic background, etc.) could

be included in future models.
Finally, caution should be taken when interpreting the unexpected result related to sportsmanship. All items within the subscale of
sportsmanship are negatively worded, in contrast to positively worded items in the two other
OCB subscales. This negative wording may
have caused an agreeing-response effect or acquiescence (i.e., the tendency to answer items in
a positive way regardless of their content;
Bentler, Jackson, & Messick, 1971; Billiet &
Davidov, 2008). Also, the finding that sportsmanship did not correlate with academic selfefficacy in bivariate correlations yet predicted
academic achievement in the mediation model
may suggest a collider effect (i.e., the change in
association between two variables when conditioning on their common effect, resulting in the
two causes colliding at the common effect;
Hernn, Hernandez-Diaz, & Robins, 2004).
Thus, future work should investigate the validity of the OCB scale and consider the possibility
of causal relationships between sportsmanship
and the other independent variables.
Implications
Notwithstanding these limitations, the results
presented here have theoretical and practical
implications. In terms of theory, the results provide further support for the important role of
academic self-efficacy in influencing learning
achievements. Furthermore, the results also provide additional support for achievement-goal
theory (Ames, 1992a, 1992b; Nicholls, 1989;
Roberts, 2001) and emphasize the importance
of pupils perceptions of the dominant learning
goals that their schools tend to adopt. The role
of these distal aspects of the school psychological climate on self-efficacy and academic
achievement is theoretically important because
it highlights the significance of a broad approach to understanding pupils motivations.
In terms of practical implications, the findings presented here indicate that teachers should
attend to the manner in which the learning atmosphere develops and that teachers should
strive to promote cooperative and productive
relationships among pupils. Thus, teachers
should adopt mastery orientation, a technique
known to exert a positive influence on academic
achievement through elevating levels of self-

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72

HIGAARD, KOVAC, VERBY, AND HAUGEN

efficacy in specific and general self-determination. Furthermore, knowledge about Banduras

social-cognitive theory and self-efficacy in particular can be of vital importance. Consistent
with a larger body of research from OCB, teachers at the preservice and in-service levels should
learn to promote methods that encourage students to practice good study routines and to
develop norms and attitudes that foster extrarole
behavior.
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Received September 3, 2013
Revision received January 7, 2014
Accepted January 14, 2014