Navigating success in higher education: engagement as a mediator between learning strategies and performance in mathematics

Abstract Various studies investigate the effects of learning strategies on students’ performance. However, one can see a mixed pattern of the impact of learning strategies on performance. One reason might be that studies often overlook the relationships between learning strategy use and engagement factors. Using panel data and a sample of 299 undergraduate students enrolled in economics and business administration at a midsized German university, this study investigates the role of engagement constructs between students’ strategy use and performance in mathematics. The results suggest that memorizing and elaboration strategies drive the students’ learning engagement differently, and learning engagement fully mediates the link between learning strategy use and (mathematics) performance. Therefore, it does not matter how students learn but whether students learn regularly and persistently.