Beliefs, reflective persistence, and achievement. Reflective persistence mediating the role of value-laden beliefs on achievement in secondary physical education students

Researchers in physical education have advocated more studies into associations among students' value-laden beliefs, use of learning strategies, and indicators of achievement. This study is a response to such calls as it investigates whether reflective persistence - one's ability to think critically while regulating one's effort - mediates the influence of value-laden beliefs (e.g., intrinsic and extrinsic goal orientation, task value, and the need for cognition) on physical education achievement among 295 high school students. Extrinsic goal orientation was dropped for lack of internal consistency. As expected, the study variables related positively with one another. The satisfactory model fit and moderate strength of the pathways within the hypothesized model indicated that reflective persistence partially mediated the influence of need for cognition, intrinsic goal orientation, and task value on indices of physical education achievement. This study illuminates important interactions among value-laden beliefs and reflective persistence on achievement along with potential implications for physical education practitioners and scholars.