{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,11]],"date-time":"2026-09-11T06:07:09Z","timestamp":1789106829430,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":44,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,11]],"date-time":"2026-09-11T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1789084800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Psychol."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This study examined how interest-type and deprivation-type curiosity were associated with mathematics achievement through cognitive, behavioral, emotional, and social engagement.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Drawing on self-determination theory and a multidimensional perspective on academic engagement, we analyzed cross-sectional data from 677 eighth-grade students across six junior secondary schools in Qinghai Province, China. Curiosity and academic engagement were assessed using mathematics-specific self-report measures, whereas achievement was obtained from a unified end-of-term mathematics examination. Structural equation modeling with robust maximum likelihood estimation was conducted while controlling for age, gender, home book resources, and maximum parental educational attainment.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The model showed an acceptable fit (CFI = 0.928, TLI = 0.922, RMSEA = 0.047, SRMR = 0.040). Both curiosity types were positively associated with all four engagement dimensions. Behavioral engagement showed the strongest association with mathematics achievement (\u03b2 = 0.326), followed by emotional engagement (\u03b2 = 0.147), and both dimensions accounted for significant indirect associations between curiosity and achievement. Interest-type curiosity also retained a significant direct association with achievement (\u03b2 = 0.113), whereas deprivation-type curiosity was associated with achievement primarily through engagement-related pathways. Cognitive engagement did not show a significant unique association with achievement.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Discussion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>These findings indicate that the two curiosity types are not functionally equivalent and that academic engagement does not operate as a uniform pathway. By identifying behavioral persistence and emotional involvement as the most salient pathways, this study refines the motivation-engagement-achievement framework in mathematics learning.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1906668","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,11]],"date-time":"2026-09-11T05:28:40Z","timestamp":1789104520000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Academic engagement mediates the association between curiosity and mathematics achievement among Chinese eighth grade students"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Wen","family":"Du","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Mathematics and Statistics, Qinghai Normal University, Xining","place":["Qinghai, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,11]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","first-page":"367","article-title":"The role of cognitive assessment and epistemological curiosity in predicting academic engagement in students","volume":"7","author":"Azizmohammadi","year":"2023","journal-title":"ILFH"},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1037\/11164-000","volume-title":"Conflict, Arousal, and Curiosity","author":"Berlyne","year":"1960"},{"key":"B3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"78","DOI":"10.5951\/jresematheduc.48.1.0078","article-title":"Psychological imprisonment or intellectual freedom? 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