Abstract
Background: Academic achievement significantly influences life success, yet low achievement can cause cognitive and emotional challenges, including disengagement and reduced academic optimism. This study compared the effectiveness of self-regulated learning strategies and executive function enhancement training on academic optimism among students with low academic achievement in Babol, Iran.
Methods: This quasi-experimental study employed a pre-test, post-test, and three-month follow-up design with a control group. The population comprised ninth-grade female students with low academic achievement (GPA<15, aged 14–16) from five public schools in Babol during the 2023–2024 academic year. Sixty students were purposively selected and randomly assigned to two experimental groups (n=20 each) and one control group (n=20). The first group received eight 90-minute sessions of self-regulated learning training. The second group underwent ten 60-minute executive function enhancement sessions. The control group received no intervention. Academic optimism was assessed using the Academic Optimism Questionnaire. Data were analyzed via mixed-model repeated-measures ANOVA using SPSS-27.
Results: The findings indicated that both interventions were effective in improving academic optimism in students with low academic achievement (P<0.001). Furthermore, the results showed that the executive function enhancement training was significantly more effective than the self-regulated learning strategies training in increasing academic optimism.
Conclusion: Self-regulated learning and executive function enhancement training effectively increased academic optimism in students with low academic achievement. Executive function training showed greater efficacy, indicating that targeting cognitive skills may yield more substantial, stable improvements in academic outlook.