The Impact of Mindful Agency Coaching and Motivational Interviewing on the Development of Positive Learning Dispositions in Undergraduate Students: A Quasi-Experimental Intervention Study

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis article details the design, implementation, and evaluation of mindful agency coaching and motivational interviewing interventions to develop undergraduate students’ positive learning dispositions. A quasi-experimental design was employed in the study involving three groups: one control group, one intervention group of mindful agency coaching only (MA group), and another intervention group of mindful agency coaching plus motivational interviewing (MA+MI group). The main findings show that compared with the control group, the two intervention groups achieved significant improvements in mindful agency, self-efficacy, and emotional intelligence. However, there was no significant difference between the two intervention groups in posttests. Moreover, participants’ improvement in mindful agency fully mediated the postintervention increases in self-efficacy, emotional intelligence, and metacognition. It can be concluded that mindful agency coaching and motivational interviewing are promising coaching approaches for undergraduate students to become mindful, resilient, and self-determined learners.