Online class-related boredom and perceived academic achievement among college students: the roles of gender and school motivation

Online class-related boredom among college students is an academic emotion most often ignored by the academic community. Therefore, only a few empirical studies have been conducted by research scholars on this subject. From the viewpoint of self-determination theory and the control-value theory of achievement emotion, this research study attempts to investigate the association between online class-related boredom, school motivation, and academic achievement. Accordingly, a total of 1294 Chinese college students are taken on board. Noticeably, the study findings indicate that online class-related boredom among college students exerts a negative correlation with their academic achievement. Furthermore, intrinsic school motivation mediates the relationship between online class-related boredom and academic achievement, whereas extrinsic school motivation also exhibits a relevant effect. Lastly, gender moderates the mediating effect of school motivation between online class-related boredom and academic achievement. Specifically, in male students, increased online class-related boredom is associated with higher levels of extrinsic motivation. In contrast, in female students, increased online class-related boredom correlates with reduced levels of both extrinsic and intrinsic motivation. In the context of research significance, on the one hand, this paper suggests that college teachers should pay due attention to the negative emotions and school motivation of college students in online classrooms, in order to improve teaching practice; on the other hand, this research study further empirically ascertains the control-value theory of achievement emotions and self-determination theory.