Does attending a deeper learning school promote student motivation, engagement, perseverance, and achievement?

Abstract The evolving economic landscape of the 21st century demands graduates who possess deeper learning (DL) competencies such as critical thinking and collaboration skills. Despite their importance, little work has examined the motivational mechanisms through which DL predicts essential academic outcomes. The current study ( N = 1,288) used an ethnically diverse sample of students (53% Hispanic) to explore self‐efficacy and mastery goal orientation as potential mediators of the relationship between (a) enrollment in a DL school and (b) academic engagement, perseverance, and mathematics achievement. Results showed that students who attended DL schools, compared with students in non‐DL schools, reported higher self‐efficacy, mastery goal orientation, and academic engagement. Path analyses revealed that attending a DL school was associated with higher academic engagement and self‐efficacy. However, enrollment in a DL school was not directly related to mathematics achievement. Overall, results provide evidence that attending a DL school can lead to valuable motivation‐ and engagement‐related benefits.