Introduction:.In today's world, marked by intensifying educational competition and escalating academic pressures, numerous challenges have emerged within the learning process. One of the most prominent of these challenges is the phenomenon of academic procrastination, which, as a dysfunctional behavior, disrupts academic performance and imposes far-reaching consequences on students’ psychological well-being and motivational states .This study was conducted in the academic year 2024–2025 with the aim of modeling academic procrastination based on the sense of agency and school culture, examining the mediating role of possible selves among male high school students in Abdanan County.
Research Methodology: The study employed a descriptive-correlational design based on Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The statistical population consisted of all male students in the second level of secondary education in Abdanan (N = 908). Using a multi-stage cluster sampling method, 270 students were selected as the sample. Research instruments included the Academic Procrastination Questionnaire by Solomon (1984), the Sense of Agency Scale by Tapal (2017), the School Culture Questionnaire by Gruenert (2005), and the Possible Selves Balance Scale developed by Saber et al. (2020).
Findings: The results indicated that school culture (β = -0.287, p > 0.01) and possible selves (β = -0.264, p > 0.01) had a direct and negative effect on academic procrastination. Sense of agency did not show a significant direct effect (β = 0.111, p < 0.05), but it demonstrated a significant indirect effect through possible selves (β = 0.093, p > 0.05). The final model was confirmed with acceptable fit indices (GFI = 0.921, CFI = 0.934, RMSEA = 0.062, χ²/df = 2.84).
Conclusion: The findings indicate that possible selves, as a cognitive-motivational bridge, connect individual factors (such as sense of agency) and environmental factors (such as school culture) to academic behaviors.