The effect of academic self-efficacy on academic achievement among university students: a moderated mediation model of achievement goal orientation and teacher's transformational leadership.

Introduction: With the growing employment pressure faced by university students and the increasing demand for their comprehensive abilities, exploring the factors that influence academic achievement to promote their academic progress holds significant practical importance. Methods: Drawing from a sample of university students and grounded in the framework of Social Cognitive Theory, this study investigates the mechanism through which academic self-efficacy affects academic achievement. It specifically tests the mediating effect of achievement goal orientation and the moderating effect of teacher's transformational leadership within this process. Results: The results indicate that: academic self-efficacy has a significant positive impact on the academic achievement of university students; achievement goal orientation plays a positive mediating role in the relationship between academic self-efficacy and academic achievement; and students' perceived teacher's transformational leadership positively moderates the relationship between academic self-efficacy and achievement goal orientation. Conclusion: Specifically, the positive effect of academic self-efficacy on achievement goal orientation is stronger when students perceive a higher level of transformational leadership from their teachers. This research confirms that academic self-efficacy drives academic achievement through a goal-setting pathway. The findings suggest that higher education institutions can promote student academic development by enhancing the transformational leadership capabilities of teachers, which in turn boosts students' efficacy.