Attitudes Towards Distance Education and Academic Life Satisfaction: The Mediation Role of Academic Self-Efficacy and Moderator Role of Gender

The present study aimed to examine the mediator role of academic self-efficacy and the moderator role of gender in the relation between attitude towards distance education and academic life satisfaction. The Study Group consisted of 452 participants who were studying at 3 different state universities in Turkey. The Attitude Scale towards Distance Education Applied in the Period of the Outbreak, Academic Self-efficacy Scale, and Academic Life Satisfaction Scale were used as the data collection tools. The data were analyzed by using the SPSS package program. As a result of the analyses, it was found that academic self-efficacy plays a partial mediating role in the relation between the attitude towards distance education and academic life satisfaction. Another important finding of the study was that the mediating effect of academic self-efficacy was moderated by gender in the relation between attitude towards distance education and academic satisfaction. Although the attitude towards distance education in women had a significant impact on self-efficacy belief, it was not the same in men. The findings of the study were discussed in the light of similar studies in the literature.