Technical competencies and goal-setting in computing and robotics education: a conditional process analysis

Abstract Developing students’ technical competencies and self-regulated learning has become a priority in robotics and computing education, yet little is known about the mechanisms through which technical competence contributes to goal-setting behaviours in authentic learning environments. Drawing on Social Cognitive Theory and Goal-Setting Theory, we examined whether science-related attitudes mediate the relationship between technical competencies and robotics goal-setting skills and whether prior knowledge moderates this process. A total of 530 undergraduate students from Nigerian higher education institutions participated in a 15-week Arduino-supported Project-Based Learning intervention. Prior knowledge was assessed before the intervention, whereas technical competencies, science-related attitudes, and robotics goal-setting skills were measured concurrently at post-intervention. The hypothesised first stage moderated mediation model was analysed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling with the SmartPLS PROCESS module and examined in a complementary robustness analysis using Hayes’ PROCESS macro in SPSS, with 10,000 bootstrap resamples. Results showed that technical competencies significantly and positively predicted robotics goal-setting skills and science-related attitudes. However, science-related attitudes did not significantly predict goal-setting skills or mediate the relationship between competence and goal setting. Prior knowledge did not significantly moderate the relationship between technical competencies and science-related attitudes, and the conditional indirect effect was unsupported. These results refine the joint application of Social Cognitive Theory and Goal-Setting Theory by suggesting that technical competence is associated with goal setting primarily through a direct competence-based pathway rather than the proposed attitudinal mechanism. This study underscores the importance of combining hands-on, feedback-rich robotics experiences with explicit goal-setting and self-regulatory strategies in higher education.