Validation of the Model of the Impact of School-Based Curriculum Planning on Academic Self-Efficacy with the Mediating Role of Decentering

Abstract

The aim of this study was to validate a model examining the effect of school-based curriculum planning on students’ academic self-efficacy with the mediating role of decentering. This quantitative study employed structural equation modeling. The statistical population consisted of principals, teachers, and students in public and private high schools in Mazandaran Province. In the first phase, 60 principals and 180 teachers completed the school-based curriculum planning questionnaire, and in the second phase, 950 students responded to the Morgan and Jinks Academic Self-Efficacy Scale. Stratified random sampling was applied, and data were analyzed using AMOS software. The results revealed that all relationships among the main variables were statistically significant. The dimensions of curriculum design, implementation, and evaluation had positive and significant effects on decentering, while these dimensions also directly and indirectly influenced academic self-efficacy. Decentering exerted a significant positive effect on academic self-efficacy. Model fit indices (CMIN/DF=2.47, RMSEA=0.058, CFI=0.940, GFI=0.936) confirmed that the proposed model had a satisfactory fit. Findings suggest that school-based curriculum planning plays a critical role in enhancing academic self-efficacy, and this relationship is strengthened by decentering. Granting greater autonomy to schools in designing, implementing, and evaluating curricula can improve both educational quality and students’ perceptions of their academic competence.