The role of academic buoyancy and emotions in students’ learning‐related expectations and behaviours in primary school

Background Academic buoyancy refers to students’ ability to come through ordinary challenges they face in the academic context, and it can positively contribute to students’ beliefs and behaviours in learning situations. Although buoyancy has been found to be related to positive academic outcomes, previous studies have not examined how buoyancy influences academic emotions in learning situations and how these emotions further affect students’ learning‐related expectations and behaviours. Aims This study investigated to what extent academic buoyancy predicts students’ failure expectations, avoidance behaviour, and task‐oriented planning in learning situations, and to what extent academic emotions mediate the effect of academic buoyancy on these expectations and behaviours. Sample A total of 845 Finnish students in the sixth grade of primary school. Methods Self‐report data for academic buoyancy and academic emotions in the autumn semester and learning‐related expectations and behaviours in the spring semester were analysed using structural equation modelling, controlling for gender, grade point average, and previous levels of learning‐related expectations and behaviours. Results The findings showed that high academic buoyancy indirectly predicted lower avoidance behaviour, fewer failure expectations, and higher task‐oriented planning via academic emotions. High academic buoyancy was related to high enjoyment and hope as well as low boredom and hopelessness, which further predicted low failure expectations. High hope and low boredom also predicted low avoidance behaviour, and high hope was associated with high task‐oriented planning. Conclusions The findings suggest that academic buoyancy supports positive expectations and adaptive behaviours in learning situations through the regulation of emotions.