Critical thinking, self-regulated learning, and academic achievement: A gender-moderated social cognitive model

Based on Bandura’s social cognitive theory, this study tested a gender-moderated mediation model to explain how critical thinking influences academic achievement. Survey data from 882 Chinese university students were analysed using SPSS and PROCESS (Model 7). Results indicated that self-regulated learning partially mediated the relationship between critical thinking and academic achievement. Gender moderated the first stage of this mediation: the link between critical thinking and self-regulated learning was significantly stronger at higher levels of critical thinking, though gender did not moderate the second stage from self-regulated learning to achievement. The findings reveal a nuanced cognitive-behavioural pathway through which critical thinking fosters academic success, with gender acting as a contextual amplifier. This study contributes to social-cognitive explanations of learning and supports the design of gender-aware, strategy-based interventions in higher education.