Academic Entitlement, Grade Orientation, and Classroom Justice as Predictors of Instructional Beliefs and Learning Outcomes

Abstract

The current study utilized the instructional beliefs model to explore the relationships and impact of students’ focus on instrumental outcomes (i.e., grade orientation, academic entitlement) and perceptions of classroom justice on mediating variables of expectancy and affect beliefs, which were proposed to influence student learning. The results of a structural equation model indicated that students’ instrumental focus negatively predicted, and perceptions of classroom justice positively predicted, expectancy beliefs and affective learning. These instructional beliefs, in turn, positively predicted students’ learning behaviors. The increasing prevalence of academic entitlement combined with a grade orientation negatively impact student learning through students’ instructional beliefs.