The Mediating Effects of Procrastination on Project-Based Learning and Students’ Engagement in Science

This research focused on the mediating effects of procrastination in the relationship between project-based learning and engagement among students who are in senior high school. Employing a quantitative descriptive-correlational method with a cross-sectional mediation design, this study was conducted in three private schools in Davao City in the Philippines. The study used purposive sampling in selecting the respondents from the senior high school students enrolled in STEM. The data from the face-to-face administration of the paper-and-pencil questionnaires were analyzed using Jamovi. Mean, standard deviation, Pearson correlation, and path-analytic regression-based mediation were used in analyzing the data. The descriptive data showed that both project-based learning and engagement in science are at a high level, although the mediating variable of academic procrastination was found to be moderate in the global sense but situational in nature, as it reached its peak during exams when compared to low-stakes classroom work. Inferential and structural results showed that there was a statistically significant direct path between the model and student engagement but non-significant paths between the method and procrastination. While there was no direct and notable relationship between procrastination and engagement of students, there was a localized negative relationship between procrastination and cognitive engagement, indicating that procrastination reduces cognitive processing. The indirect path showed there is a non-significant mediation effect because both paths are stagnant. The project-based learning method itself increases engagement but does not rely on procrastination. Educational leaders should take the issue of the curriculum and self-regulation of students into account. The nature of the research does not allow establishing causality, and reliance on self-reported data may have biased the research findings. Further research should check whether procrastination is a moderator that interacts with motivational constructs or not.

Project-Based Learning, student engagement, academic procrastination, mediation analysis, science education, senior high school STEM

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