Predictors of academic achievement in higher education
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47040/sd/sdpsych.v1i1-2.11Keywords:
academic achievement, higher education, personality factors, learning motivationAbstract
In this study we investigated the relationship between academic achievement and the students' characteristics such as personality traits, learning motivation or intellectual ability. Our intention was to highlight possible predictors of academic achievement on the level of higher education. A samplegroup of 284 pre-service teachers voluntarily participated in the study. The results showed a significant correlation between academic achievement and some personality variables such as conscientiousness, emotional stability, selfesteem and self-control. Moreover, intellectual ability and intrinsic motivation positively correlated with academic achievement, as shown in previous studies. Regression analysis further revealed that the most important predictors of academic achievement were intrinsic motivation, intelligence, self-control and self-esteem. Overall, it seems that identifying the predictors of academic achievement and wisely integrating them in the classroom setting could significantly improve the quality of instruction in higher education.
References
ANDERSON, E. S . KEITH, T. Z. (2001). A longitudinal test of a model of academic achievement for at-risk high school students. In The Journal of Educational Research, 90 (5), 259-268.
AUSUBEL, D. P., ROBINSON, F. G. (1981). învățarea in școală (Learning in school). București: EDP.
BETORET, F. D. (2006). Testing an Instructional Model in a University Educational Setting from the Student's Perspective. Learning and Instruction, 16, 450-466.
BUCKLE, G. (1996). Personality traits, learning strategies. and performance. European Journal of Personality, JO. 337-352.
BORDE, S. F. (1998). Predictors of student academic performance in the introductory Marketing course. Journal of Education for Business 73 (5), 302-306
BORG, M. G, FALZON, J. M (1991). Predictors of overall performance in a B. Ed. Course and in Educational Psychology. Assessment in Higher Education, 16 (2), 149-156.
BRUINSMA, M. (2003). Effectiveness of higher education. Factors that determine outcomes of university education. Groningen, The Netherlands: GION/COWOG.
BRUINSMA. M. (2004). Motivation, cognitive processing and achievement in higher education. In Learning and Instruction, 14, 549-568.
BUSATO. V. V., PRJNS. F. J., ELSHOUT, J. J., HAMAKER, C. (2000). Intellectual ability, learning style achievement motivation and academic achievement of psychology students in higher education. In Personality and Individual Differences, 29, 1057-1068
CHAMORRO-PREMUZIC. T., FURNHAM, A. (2003). Personality predicts academic performance: Evidence from two longitudinal university samples. In Journal of Research in Personality, 37, 319-338.
CLINCIU, A. I. (2010). Două instrumente destinate evaluării de sine (Two instruments destined to self-evaluation). În E. Avram (editor), Sănătatea și calitatea vieții (Health and Quality of Life). București: Editura Universității.
CONARD, M. A. (2006). Aptitude is not enough: How personality and behavior predict academic performance. In Journal of Research in Personality 40, 339-346.
CONSTANTIN, T. (2004). Evaluarea psihologică a personalului (The psychological evaluation of personnel). Iași: Editura Polirom.
CUASAY, P. (1992). Cognitive factors in academic achievement. In Higher Education Extension Service Review, 3, 3-10.
EPPLER, M., A., HARJU, B., L. (1997). Achievement motivation goals in relation to academic performance in traditional and nontraditional college students. In Research in Higher Education, 38 (5), 557-573.
FARSIDES, T., WOODFIELD, R. (2003). Individual differences and undergraduate academic achievement: the role of personality, intelligence and application. In Personality and Individual Differences, 34, 1225-1243.
GAGNE, F., PERE, F. S. (2001). When IQ is controlled, does motivation still predict achievement?. In Intelligence 30, 71-100.
JANSEN, E. P. W. A., BRUINSMA, M. (2005). Explaining achievement in higher education. In Educational Research and Evaluation, I I (3), 235-252.
KAHN, J. H., GAILBREATH, R. D., CHARTRAND, J.M. (2002). The Utility of Career and Personality Assessment in Predicting Academic Progress. In Journal of Career Assessment, JO (I), 3-23.
LELORD, F., ANDRE, C. (2003). Cum să te iubești pe tine pentru a te înțelege mai bine cu ceilalți (Love yourself to better understand the others). București: Editura Trei.
LIM, J., KIM, M., CHEN, S. S., RYDER, C. E. (2008). An empirical investigation of student achievement and satisfaction in different learning environments. In Journal of Instructional Psychology 35 (2), 113-119.
MCCOACH, D. B., SIEGLE, D. (2001). Why try? Factors that differentiate underachieving gifted students from high achieving gifted students. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Seattle, WA. (ERIC Document No. 454678).
MCNABB, R., PAL, S., SLOANE, P. (2002). Gender differences in educational attainment: the case of university students in England and Wales. In Economica 69 (275), 481-503.
NICOLA, I. (2000). Tratat de pedagogie școlară (A treaty of school pedagogy). București: EDP.
O'CONNOR, M. C., PAUNONEN, S. V. (2007). Big Five personality predictors of post-secondary academic performance. In Personality and Individual Differences, 43, 971-990.
PASCARELLA, E., TERENZINI, P. (1979). Interaction effects in Spady and Tinto 's conceptual models of college attrition. In Sociology of Education 52 (4), 197-210.
PRECK.EL, F., HOLLING, H., VOCK, M. (2006). Academic underachievement: relationship with cognitive motivation, achievement motivation, and conscientiousness. In Psychology in the Schools, 43 (3), 401- 411.
SHIM, M. K., FELNER. R. D., SHIM, E (2000). The effects of family structures on academic achievement. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association in New Orleans, April 2000. (Available on line at http://www.eric.ed.gov).
SLOBODSKAYA, H. R., SAFRONOVA, M. V., WINDLE, M. (2005). Personality, temperament and adolescent adjustment in modern Russia. In Personality and Individual Differences (39), 167-178.
T ASPINAR, M. (2007). The cooperative learning method in teacher training. In International Journal of Educational Reform 16 (1), 54-70.
TINTO, V. (1993). Leaving College. Rethinking the Causes and Cures of Student Attrition. Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2012 Studia Doctoralia
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
