The associations among motivation, self-efficacy, and anxiety of writing skills in primary school students: a mixed-methods approach

Background The aim was to understand the relationship between anxiety, self-efficacy and motivation in relation to students’ writing skills, which was achieved by collecting quantitative data from the students. Qualitative data was also collected from classroom teachers who observed and evaluated the students’ writing processes, in order to shed light on these relationships. Methods The quantitative phase was represented by a survey of 436 primary school students, conducted in the Turkish city of Mardin. Mediation analysis was employed to determine mediating role of anxiety via SPSS Process 4.0. The qualitative phase involved the analysis of interviews conducted with classroom teachers, which were used to interpret the quantitative findings. Results The results confirmed that motivation can be the dominant factor in taking action in writing, supporting the notion that anxiety partially mediates the relationship between motivation and self-efficacy. In addition, the findings were illustrated by classroom teachers’ statements explaining that both motivation and self-efficacy decrease as students’ anxiety about writing increases. Conclusion Assessing students writing skills is crucial for policymakers, researchers, and families. The study’s key findings demonstrate the practical benefits for primary school students of providing opportunities to write on topics of interest to increase their writing motivation (WMO), addressing concerns about dissatisfaction with their writing, and providing activities to sustain writing activity at school and at home.