The mediating role of cognitive, social and radical constructivism between hands-on making self-efficacy and motivation for continuous improvement in an iSTEM competition

Background: The association between self-efficacy and motivation for continuous improvement has rarely been studied. Purpose: This study examined an iSTEM (integrated science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) competition called Evacuating Balls, which required participants to remove 14 balls as quickly as possible to win the competition. Sample: A total of 382 valid responses were collected and analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis. Design and methods: In addition to this assessment, the study used questionnaire surveys to assess participants’ self-perceptions of contextual value, social value, and radical value during the competition. Results: The results revealed that hands-on making self-efficacy was positively related to value in radical constructivism, value in social constructivism, and value in cognitive constructivism. Furthermore, all three constructivist values positively predicted continuous improvement. Additionally, participants’ practical self-efficacy was associated with their motivation for continuous improvement mediated by their perceived values in the three types of constructivism. Conclusion: The findings of this study complement previous research by exploring the potential moderating effect of learning value on learners’ continuous improvement in an iSTEM competition.