The Effects of High School Students’ Self-directed Learning on Academic Achievement through ICT Utilization Ability

The Effects of High School Students’ Self-directed Learning on Academic Achievement through ICT Utilization Ability

The purpose of this study is to analyze the effects of high school students' self-directed learning on academic achievement through the mediating effect of ICT utilization ability. To achieve this, a hypothesized structural equation model was established based on a comprehensive literature review to examine the relationships between self-directed learning, ICT utilization ability, and academic achievement, using data of SELS 2010 9th year (2018) of general high school grade 12 students, total of 2,748 students. Firstly, the goodness-of-fit indices for the structural equation model established in this study were all satisfactory (CFI = 0.974, TLI = 0.961, RMSEA = 0.055, SRMR = 0.037). Secondly, self-directed learning had a statistically significant positive effect on both ICT utilization ability and academic achievement, while ICT utilization ability had a statistically significant positive effect on academic achievement. Thirdly, there was a statistically significant mediating effect of ICT utilization ability between self-directed learning and academic achievement. These results suggest that educational efforts to enhance not only self-directed learning but also ICT utilization ability are needed to improve high school students' academic achievement.