A recent quantitative study by Torres Castro and Pineda-Baéz examines the relationship between student engagement and academic achievement, with particular attention to how student agency functions as both a mediating and a moderating mechanism in this relationship.
The study surveyed 1,713 final-year students from six accredited private universities across five regions in Colombia. Grounded in social cognitive theory and the ecological model of student engagement, the study conceptualizes student engagement as a multidimensional construct. It encompasses ten indicators across four domains: academic challenge, learning with peers, experiences with faculty, and campus environment. Student engagement is assessed through the National Survey of Student Engagement, with scores standardized on a 0 to 60 scale. Student agency is operationalized as agentic engagement through the five-item Agentic Engagement Scale. This scale captures proactive behaviors such as expressing preferences, asking questions, and suggesting adjustments to instruction. Academic achievement was measured by self-reported cumulative grade point average on Colombia’s standardized 0.0 to 5.0 scale. The study employed hierarchical regression with robust standard errors, structural equation modeling, and bootstrap-based mediation analysis using R version 4.3.1.
The findings reveal that among the ten engagement indicators, only collaborative learning and student-faculty interaction are positively and independently associated with academic achievement. Among the five agentic engagement behaviors, only expressive voice emerged as a significant mediator, channeling approximately six percent of the total effect of collaborative learning on grade point average. Expressive voice also moderated the relationship between student-faculty interaction and grade point average in a compensatory pattern. The association between faculty interaction and achievement was stronger among students with lower levels of expressive voice, whereas it was attenuated yet remained positive among those with higher levels. Although effect sizes were modest, the findings demonstrate that student agency operates as a context-dependent dual mechanism.
The study further suggests that instructional practices should combine structured guidance with opportunities for student-initiated contribution, and that support systems should prioritize students with lower levels of agentic engagement.
Source (Open Access): Torres Castro, U. E., & Pineda-Baéz, C. (2026). Student agency in Colombian higher education: a dual-pathway model of mediation and moderation between student engagement and academic achievement. Higher Education, 1-20.