Future Time Perspective, Beliefs, Strategies and Academic Achievement: Examining the Role of Socioeconomic Status

Abstract

The primary objective of this research is to investigate the intermediary function of long-term self-regulation and perceptions of instrumentality in the correlation between Future Time Perspective (FTP) and academic achievement. Additionally, the study aims to explore the moderating impact of Socio-Economic Status (SES). The sample comprised 572 third-year high school students majoring in Science, selected through a meticulous stratified sampling process. Participants completed a comprehensive questionnaire encompassing the Future Time Perspective Scale (FTPS), Adolescent Self-Regulatory Inventory (ASRI), and Perceptions of Instrumentality (PI) Scale. SES was assessed in relation to parental education and household income indices, while academic achievement was gauged based on mean scores in three core courses: physics, chemistry, and biology. The study's conceptual model, as assessed through structural equation modeling, demonstrated a good fit for both high and low SES in the student cohorts. However, an analysis of the Chi-square for model fit revealed significant differences between the two groups, indicating non-identical structural relationships. Notably, in both groups, value and speed exhibited impacts on academic achievement, while the influence of connectedness varied between the groups. The research findings revealed that academic achievement in both groups was influenced by value through PI and by speed through long-term self-regulation. Connectedness affected academic achievement in both groups, but its impact was indirect through long-term self-regulation. Furthermore, in the high SES group, connectedness had a direct effect on academic achievement and also an indirect effect through PI. Interestingly, these direct and indirect effects were not statistically significant in the low SES group.