Exploring How AI Literacy and Self-Regulated Learning Relate to Student Writing Performance and Well-Being in Generative AI-Supported Higher Education

The integration of generative artificial intelligence (GAI) into higher education is transforming students’ learning processes, academic performance, and psychological well-being. Despite the increasing adoption of GAI tools, the mechanisms through which students’ AI literacy and self-regulated lear...

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Main Authors: Jiajia Shi, Weitong Liu, Ke Hu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-05-01
Series:Behavioral Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/15/5/705
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author Jiajia Shi
Weitong Liu
Ke Hu
author_facet Jiajia Shi
Weitong Liu
Ke Hu
author_sort Jiajia Shi
collection DOAJ
description The integration of generative artificial intelligence (GAI) into higher education is transforming students’ learning processes, academic performance, and psychological well-being. Despite the increasing adoption of GAI tools, the mechanisms through which students’ AI literacy and self-regulated learning (SRL) relate to their academic and emotional experiences remain underexplored. This study investigates how AI literacy and SRL are associated with writing performance and digital well-being among university students in GAI-supported higher learning contexts. A survey was administered to 257 students from universities in China, and structural equation modeling was used to examine the hypothesized relationships. Results show that both AI literacy and SRL significantly and positively predict students’ writing performance, with SRL having a stronger effect. Moreover, AI literacy shows a positive association with GAI-driven well-being, with writing performance serving as a partial mediator in this relationship. These findings suggest that fostering both technological competencies and effective learning strategies may support students’ academic outcomes while supporting their psychological well-being in AI-enriched educational environments. By integrating AI literacy and SRL into a unified model, this study contributes to the growing body of research on GAI-driven well-being in higher education and offers practical implications for cultivating balanced and sustainable learning experiences in the age of GAI.
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spelling doaj-art-9b06acf5e7764c31bd10ce99d57422fa2025-08-20T01:56:14ZengMDPI AGBehavioral Sciences2076-328X2025-05-0115570510.3390/bs15050705Exploring How AI Literacy and Self-Regulated Learning Relate to Student Writing Performance and Well-Being in Generative AI-Supported Higher EducationJiajia Shi0Weitong Liu1Ke Hu2School of International Education, Shandong University, Jinan 250100, ChinaSchool of International Education, Shandong University, Jinan 250100, ChinaSchool of Education, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou 350007, ChinaThe integration of generative artificial intelligence (GAI) into higher education is transforming students’ learning processes, academic performance, and psychological well-being. Despite the increasing adoption of GAI tools, the mechanisms through which students’ AI literacy and self-regulated learning (SRL) relate to their academic and emotional experiences remain underexplored. This study investigates how AI literacy and SRL are associated with writing performance and digital well-being among university students in GAI-supported higher learning contexts. A survey was administered to 257 students from universities in China, and structural equation modeling was used to examine the hypothesized relationships. Results show that both AI literacy and SRL significantly and positively predict students’ writing performance, with SRL having a stronger effect. Moreover, AI literacy shows a positive association with GAI-driven well-being, with writing performance serving as a partial mediator in this relationship. These findings suggest that fostering both technological competencies and effective learning strategies may support students’ academic outcomes while supporting their psychological well-being in AI-enriched educational environments. By integrating AI literacy and SRL into a unified model, this study contributes to the growing body of research on GAI-driven well-being in higher education and offers practical implications for cultivating balanced and sustainable learning experiences in the age of GAI.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/15/5/705generative artificial intelligenceAI literacyself-regulated learningwell-beingwriting performancehigher education
spellingShingle Jiajia Shi
Weitong Liu
Ke Hu
Exploring How AI Literacy and Self-Regulated Learning Relate to Student Writing Performance and Well-Being in Generative AI-Supported Higher Education
Behavioral Sciences
generative artificial intelligence
AI literacy
self-regulated learning
well-being
writing performance
higher education
title Exploring How AI Literacy and Self-Regulated Learning Relate to Student Writing Performance and Well-Being in Generative AI-Supported Higher Education
title_full Exploring How AI Literacy and Self-Regulated Learning Relate to Student Writing Performance and Well-Being in Generative AI-Supported Higher Education
title_fullStr Exploring How AI Literacy and Self-Regulated Learning Relate to Student Writing Performance and Well-Being in Generative AI-Supported Higher Education
title_full_unstemmed Exploring How AI Literacy and Self-Regulated Learning Relate to Student Writing Performance and Well-Being in Generative AI-Supported Higher Education
title_short Exploring How AI Literacy and Self-Regulated Learning Relate to Student Writing Performance and Well-Being in Generative AI-Supported Higher Education
title_sort exploring how ai literacy and self regulated learning relate to student writing performance and well being in generative ai supported higher education
topic generative artificial intelligence
AI literacy
self-regulated learning
well-being
writing performance
higher education
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/15/5/705
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AT weitongliu exploringhowailiteracyandselfregulatedlearningrelatetostudentwritingperformanceandwellbeingingenerativeaisupportedhighereducation
AT kehu exploringhowailiteracyandselfregulatedlearningrelatetostudentwritingperformanceandwellbeingingenerativeaisupportedhighereducation