Impact of Cooperative and Competitive Orientation on Student Engagement in Higher Education: The Mediating Role of Self-Efficacy
Nguyen Quy Don
*
Department of Psychology, Ho Chi Minh City University of Education, 280 An Duong Vuong Street, Cho Quan Ward, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
Luu Ha Thanh Anh
Department of Psychology, Ho Chi Minh City University of Education, 280 An Duong Vuong Street, Cho Quan Ward, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Aims: This study aims to examine the impact of cooperative orientation and competitive orientation on student engagement, while also testing the mediating role of self-efficacy within the proposed research model.
Research Design: This study adopts a quantitative research approach using a survey method.
Setting and Time: The study was conducted with university students in Ho Chi Minh City from August to September 2025.
Methods: The sample consisted of 460 university students. Data were collected through a self-report survey and analyzed using SPSS 26.0 and SmartPLS 4.0. The Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) approach was employed to examine the relationships among variables in the research model.
Results: The findings indicate that cooperative orientation has a significant effect on self-efficacy (β = 0.385; p = 0.001) and student engagement (β = 0.284; p = 0.001). In addition, competitive orientation has a significant effect on self-efficacy (β = 0.148; p = 0.001) but does not have a direct effect on student engagement (β = −0.013; p = 0.751). Meanwhile, self-efficacy has a significant positive effect on student engagement (β = 0.496; p = 0.001). The analysis also reveals that self-efficacy mediates the relationship between cooperative orientation and student engagement (β = 0.191, p = 0.001), as well as between competitive orientation and student engagement (β = 0.074, p = 0.001).
Conclusion: Self-efficacy plays a mediating role in the relationships between cooperative orientation, competitive orientation, and student engagement. The findings also suggest that cooperative orientation can enhance student engagement by strengthening self-efficacy, thereby clarifying the psychological mechanism linking individuals’ interaction orientations and student engagement in higher education contexts.
Keywords: cooperative orientation, competitive orientation, self-efficacy, student engagement, university students