“Believing, belonging, becoming”: academic confidence, perceived teacher emotional support and study engagement in research writing of sports science students

Abstract

Research writing is a required academic task that may be challenging for sports science students who are often more accustomed to performance-based and practice-oriented learning environments. This study examined the mediating role of perceived teacher emotional support in the association between academic behavioral confidence and study engagement among Bachelor of Science in Exercise and Sports Science students completing undergraduate research writing in the Philippines. Grounded in Self-Determination Theory and Social Cognitive Theory, the study employed a cross-sectional design involving 124 students who had completed Research Writing 2. Data were collected using the Academic Behavioral Confidence Scale, Teacher Emotional Support Scale, and Utrecht Work Engagement Scale for Students. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was used to evaluate the measurement model, structural paths, mediation effect, and predictive relevance of the model. Findings showed that academic behavioral confidence was positively associated with perceived teacher emotional support and study engagement. Perceived teacher emotional support was also positively associated with study engagement. Mediation analysis indicated a significant indirect association between academic behavioral confidence and study engagement through perceived teacher emotional support, suggesting partial mediation. The study contributes to student engagement and thesis supervision literature by situating confidence, emotional support, and engagement within the underexamined context of undergraduate research writing in sports science. It highlights thesis writing as a motivational and relational process in which students are required to transition from performance-oriented learning to sustained academic inquiry. The findings suggest that confidence-related beliefs and emotionally supportive supervision may be important conditions linked to students’ engagement during thesis writing. However, given the cross-sectional design, the results should be interpreted as evidence of associations rather than causal effects.