A longitudinal analysis of the reciprocal relationship between academic procrastination,study satisfaction,and dropout intentions in higher education

Student dropout is a multi-causal process. Different theoretical models on student dropout consider dysfunctional study behavior (e.g., academic procrastination) and low study satisfaction as possible determinants of students’ dropout intentions during their university studies. However, these models neglect contemporary conceptualizations that assume reverse relationships between dropout intentions and other determinants of the dropout process. Until now, empirical evidence on these assumptions is scant. The present three-wave longitudinal study explored the reciprocal relationships between academic procrastination, study satisfaction, and dropout intentions over one semester. To this end, we used data of N = 326 undergraduate students enrolled in mathematics and law. Our latent cross-lagged panel model replicated existing empirical cross-sectional findings between the variables (i.e., academic procrastination, study satisfaction, and dropout intentions). Regarding the longitudinal relations, as expected, the cross-lagged effects showed that higher dropout intentions significantly related to subsequent higher academic procrastination and lower study satisfaction. Unexpectedly, academic procrastination did not significantly relate to subsequent dropout intentions. Additionally, higher study satisfaction significantly associated with subsequent higher dropout intentions—possibly due to unfulfilled expectations. Further, higher study satisfaction significantly related to subsequent higher procrastination—possibly due to more confidence among satisfied students. Our results broaden the view on dropout intentions as part of the dynamic interplay of student dropout determinants and the need to refine dropout models’ assumptions accordingly. Practically, realistic expectations seem important to reduce dropout intentions. Further, student counselors should have a closer look at the reasons for academic procrastination to develop individual solutions for this dysfunctional behavior.

     

The relationship between academic motivation and basic psychological needs within the freshman year context: a longitudinal person-oriented approach

European Journal of Psychology of Education - Freshman year is a major life event in emerging adulthood requiring adaptation that is associated with self-determination processes, like academic...     

Assessment policies and academic performance within a single course: the role of motivation and self-regulation

Abstract

Despite the frequently reported association of characteristics of assessment policies with academic performance, the mechanisms through which these policies affect performance are largely unknown. Therefore, the current research investigated performance, motivation and self-regulation for two groups of students following the same statistics course, but under two assessment policies: education and child studies (ECS) students studied under an assessment policy with relatively higher stakes, a higher performance standard and a lower resit standard, compared with Psychology students. Results show similar initial performance, but more use of resits and higher final performance (post-resit) under the ECS policy compared with the psychology policy. In terms of motivation and self-regulation, under the ECS policy significantly higher minimum grade goals, performance self-efficacy, task value, time and study environment management, and test anxiety were observed, but there were no significant differences in aimed grade goals, academic self-efficacy and effort regulation. The relations of motivational and self-regulatory factors with academic performance were similar between both assessment policies. Thus, educators should be keenly aware of how characteristics of assessment policies are related to students’ motivation, self-regulation and academic performance.     

Connections between learning experience,study behaviour and academic performance: a longitudinal study

Background:?Whilst past studies have established the joint influence of student learning experience and study behaviour on academic achievement, few attempts have been made to determine their causal ordering in a longitudinal framework.

Purpose:?This study explored the reciprocal relationship between learning experience and study behaviour, and examined their relative impact on university students' academic performance.

Sample:?Participants were 396 undergraduate students from a university in Hong Kong (191 men, 205 women).

Design and methods:?Students' learning experience and study behaviour were evaluated using the Course Experience Questionnaire (CEQ) and the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI). A two-wave cross-lagged structural model was constructed to examine the reciprocal effects between learning experience and study behaviour measured over a 12-month period.

Results and conclusions:?The findings showed that after controlling for previous academic achievement, student learning experience measured at Time 1 exerted significant influence on study behaviour measured at Time 2, and study behaviour measured at Time 1 also exerted significant impact on learning experience at Time 2. Both constructs were significantly predictive of current academic performance.

Conclusions:?Results from this study outlined linkages between learning experience and study behaviour in influencing academic achievement. As the current study is based on students from a single university, further studies with different student populations are recommended. The implications of fostering motivation and enhancing university learning experience are discussed.     

Profiling individual differences in student motivation: A longitudinal cluster-analytic study in different academic contexts

This research examined whether distinct student profiles emerged from measures of interest, mastery goals, task value, and self-efficacy in samples of Norwegian student nurses and business administration students. Additionally, profile differences in self-reported strategy use and epistemological beliefs were examined, as well as changes in student profiles over one academic year. Distinct groups of participants were identified in both samples, with considerable consistency in student profiles across the two academic contexts. In both contexts, more positively motivated participants consistently reported more use of deeper-level strategies and expressed more sophisticated beliefs about the nature of knowledge and knowledge acquisition. The longitudinal analysis showed that despite overall decreases in adaptive motivation in both contexts, many participants were able to maintain relatively high levels of motivation across the academic year, and, especially among the business administration students, quite a few developed more adaptive motivation over time. Yet, a great many participants in both samples lost some of their enthusiasm and engagement.     

Effects of academic performance on the relationship between child maltreatment and deviant behavior: A national study in Taiwan

BackgroundChild maltreatment has been found to significantly increase the risk of deviant behavior. Academic performance has been shown to have an indirect effect on the relationship between child maltreatment and deviant behavior. However, not all adolescents who have been maltreated engage in deviant behavior, so the relationship between child maltreatment and deviant behavior has remained unclear.ObjectiveThe aim of this research was to examine the potential mediating and/or moderating effects of academic performance on the relationship between child maltreatment and deviant behavior.Participants and settingThe data in this study were from a nationwide study examining the consequences of childhood maltreatment in Taiwan. The database consisted of data from 2321 adolescents.MethodsA secondary data analysis was conducted. Self-report data were obtained on childhood maltreatment experiences, academic performance, and deviant behaviors. Path analyses and a generalized linear model were used to examine the effects of academic performance on the relationship between child maltreatment and deviant behavior.ResultsMost participants were male (61.4%), with a mean age of 15.9 years. The mean scores of self-rated academic performance and deviant behavior were 2.86 and 8.2, respectively. A total of 83% participants reported having experienced childhood maltreatment. In this study, academic performance was found to have a moderating rather than a mediating effect on the relationship between child maltreatment and deviant behavior. Among adolescents who had been maltreated during childhood, those who self-rated poorer academic performance were more likely to have a higher deviant behavior score than those who self-rated better academic performance.ConclusionsGood academic performance can be a buffer that reduces the risk of deviant behavior among individuals with a history of childhood maltreatment. Healthcare professionals and educators can tailor early prevention and intervention educational programs targeted toward adolescents with experience of childhood abuse or poor academic performance to prevent the incidence of deviant behavior and thus break the cycle of violence.     

Students’ transition from elementary to high school and changes of the relationship between motivation and academic performance

336 students, 186 girls and 150 boys were met at the end of the school year, both at grade six and at Secondary one, in order to examine the impact of the transition from elementary to secondary school on various motivational variables. Analyses showed changes in self-efficacy beliefs and learning goals, whatever students’ level of achievement and gender. However, self-efficacy beliefs appeared as the most powerful predictor of academic performance at both school levels. In addition, the pattern of relations between academic performance and the variables examined was relatively similar at both times of measurement. The discussion focuses on changes in self-efficacy beliefs and learning goals and on their relations to academic performance.     

The associations between teacher-child relationships and academic skills: A longitudinal study among Chinese preschool children

The current study followed a sample of 656 Chinese preschool children to examine reciprocal associations between teacher-child relationships and children’s academic skills by testing three cross-lagged models: the relationship-driven model, the child-driven model, and the reciprocal model. Fifty-nine head teachers reported teacher-child relationships, and children’s academic skills were assessed at three time points during the 2nd and 3rd preschool year. Results showed that the reciprocal model was the best fit in explaining the associations between teacher-child relationships and children’s academic skills (math achievement, character recognition and executive function), and the child-driven model was the best fit in explaining the relation between teacher-child relationships and children’s receptive vocabulary. The results contribute to understand the dynamic relations between teacher-child relationships and children's academic skills in the Chinese preschool context. Implications for educational practices are discussed.     

Distance education: relationship between academic performance and technology-adept adult students

Advances in technology assisted education are revolutionizing the educational process as most know it today. What impact, if any, does technology-assisted education have on the future of higher education? In this study, we examine data from an ongoing evaluation of the distance education program for graduate level business students in a private university. The study addresses the impact of technology-assisted learning on academic performance among distance learners and their on-campus counterparts. The study further explores the relationship between academic performance and students' technological adeptability. The findings indicate, when adjusted for gender (females out-performed males), there were no significant differences in academic performance between distance learners and their on-campus counterparts. Analysis also shows no significant differences in overall academic performance between technology-adept students and those without technological skills. These findings may remove at least some perceived barriers in the decision to initiate distance education programs.     

Predicting stereotype endorsement and academic motivation in women in science programs: A longitudinal model

This study proposed and tested a model based on stereotype threat theory. The hypothesis is that women who are exposed to a low percentage of women in a science program are more likely to endorse the gender stereotype that science is a male domain, which will in turn undermine their autonomous academic motivation. A total of 167 women university students enrolled in science programs participated in an 18-month longitudinal study. Results partially support our model. Although the low percentage of females in science programs was related to endorsement of the gender stereotype, there was no effect of prior stereotype endorsement on subsequent autonomous academic motivation.     

The relation between mastery goals and intrinsic motivation among university students: a longitudinal study

The present work broadens previous research on students’ mastery goals and intrinsic motivation by exploring their reciprocal effects using a longitudinal approach. To this end, a study using four measurement points was conducted during 10 weeks of one semester. The sample comprised 1156 students enrolled in psychology courses at a medium-sized university in Germany who completed questionnaires. The findings showed that both constructs were intra-individually stable over the course of one semester although the rank-order stability of mastery goals was higher than the rank-order stability of intrinsic motivation. Cross-lagged structural equation models revealed that students’ mastery goals predicted their intrinsic motivation throughout the semester. However, intrinsic motivation did not predict mastery goals. Results are discussed in terms of a potential integration of achievement goal theory and self-determination theory and their practical implications.     

Self-regulation and academic achievement and resilience: A longitudinal study

There is a growing body of research indicating that students who can self-regulate cognitive, motivational, and behavioral aspects of their academic functioning are more effective as learners. We studied relations between the self-regulation strategies used by a group of Italian students during the final years of high school and their subsequent academic achievement and resilience in pursuing higher education. We used the self-regulated learning interview schedule, which focuses on cognitive, motivational, and behavioral strategies used during academic learning in both classroom and non-classroom contexts. The cognitive self-regulation strategy of organizing and transforming proved to be a significant predictor of the students’ course grades in Italian, mathematics, and technical subjects in high school and in their subsequent average course grades and examinations passed at the university. The motivational self-regulation strategy of self-consequences was a significant predictor of the students’ high school diploma grades and their intention to continue with their education after high school.     

The interplay between academic emotions,psychological flexibility and self-regulation as predictors of academic achievement

Research concerning students’ emotions as well as their way of coping with their emotions in different situations has been scarce. The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between self-regulated learning, academic emotions, psychological flexibility, study success and study pace during university-level studies. A total of 274 arts students participated in this study. Academic emotions were first explored with factor analyses, parallel analysis and confirmatory factor analyses. The relationship between self-regulated learning, psychological flexibility, academic emotions and study success and study pace was analysed using Pearson’s correlations and path analysis using Amos. The results revealed that there is a strong connection between self-regulated learning and academic emotions and that students’ self-regulations appear to affect students’ emotions with regard to their academic study. Furthermore, psychological flexibility appeared to be an important mediator between academic emotions and study pace. The study suggests that students’ emotions and their way of coping with these emotions should be taken into account when considering learning and teaching.     

School context,achievement motivation,and academic engagement: A longitudinal study of school engagement using a multidimensional perspective

This longitudinal study adopts a multidimensional perspective to examine the relationships between middle school students' perceptions of the school environment (structure support, provision of choice, teaching for relevance, teacher and peer emotional support), achievement motivation (academic self-concept and subjective task value), and school engagement (behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement). Participants were from an ethnically diverse, urban sample of 1157 adolescents. The findings indicated that student perceptions of distinct aspects of the school environment contributed differentially to the three types of school engagement. In addition, these associations were fully or partially mediated by achievement motivation. Specifically, student perceptions of the school environment influenced their achievement motivation and in turn influenced all three types of school engagement, although in different ways. Moderation effects of gender, ethnicity, and academic ability were also discussed.     

Reciprocal relations between achievement goals and academic performance in a collectivist higher education context: a longitudinal study

European Journal of Psychology of Education - This study examined the bidirectional longitudinal relations between achievement goals and academic performance among Chinese college students. The...     

Social skills and problem behaviors as mediators of the relationship between behavioral self-regulation and academic achievement

Early behavioral self-regulation is an important predictor of the skills children need to be successful in school. However, little is known about the mechanism(s) through which self-regulation affects academic achievement. The current study investigates the possibility that two aspects of children's social functioning, social skills and problem behaviors, mediate the relationship between preschool self-regulation and literacy and math achievement. Additionally, we investigated whether the meditational processes differed for boys and girls. We expected that better self-regulation would help children to interact well with others (social skills) and minimize impulsive or aggressive (problem) behaviors. Positive interactions with others and few problem behaviors were expected to relate to gains in achievement as learning takes place within a social context. Preschool-aged children (n = 118) were tested with direct measures of self-regulation, literacy, and math. Teachers reported on children's social skills and problem behaviors. Using a structural equation modeling approach (SEM) for mediation analysis, social skills and problem behaviors were found to mediate the relationship between self-regulation and growth in literacy across the preschool year, but not math. Findings suggest that the mediational process was similar for boys and girls. These findings indicate that a child's social skills and problem behaviors are part of the mechanism through which behavioral self-regulation affects growth in literacy. Self-regulation may be important not just because of the way that it relates directly to academic achievement but also because of the ways in which it promotes or inhibits children's interactions with others.     

A longitudinal study in learning preferences and academic performance in first year medical school

This is a longitudinal study of first year medical students that investigates the relationship between the pattern change of the learning preferences and academic performance. Using the visual, auditory, reading‐writing, and kinesthetic inventory at the beginning of the first and second year for the same class, it was found that within the first year, 36% of the class remained unimodal (single) modality learners (SS), 14% changed from unimodal to multimodality learners (SM), 27% changed from multimodality to unimodal modality learners (MS) and 21% remained as multimodality learners (MM). Among the academic performance through subsequent didactic blocks from Clinical Anatomy, Cell and Subcellular Processes to Medical Neuroscience during first year, the SM group made more significant improvement compared to the SS group. Semi‐structured interview results from the SM group showed that students made this transition between the Clinical Anatomy course and the middle of the Medical Neuroscience course, in an effort to improve their performance. This study suggests that the transition from unimodal to multimodality learning among academically struggling students improved their academic performance in the first year of medical school. Therefore, this may be considered as part of academic advising tools for struggling students to improve their academic performances. Anat Sci Educ 11: 488–495. © 2017 American Association of Anatomists.     

Fostering self-efficacy and self-regulation in higher education: a matter of autonomy support or academic motivation?

ABSTRACT

By implementing student-centred learning environments, higher education institutions aim to foster student self-efficacy and self-regulation. Previous research that focuses on how students perceive these learning environments usually does not take the differential impact of students’ study motivation into account. However, the type of motivation might influence how students perceive their learning environment. To this end, this study investigates the relationship between students’ perceived autonomy support in student-centred learning environments and self-regulation and self-efficacy by taking study motivation into account. The results indicate that autonomy-supportive teacher behaviour enhances self-efficacy for students who are autonomously motivated. Amotivated students might need other than autonomy-supportive teacher behaviour to develop self-efficacy. Self-regulation seems to play a less distinct role. Overall, when examining the effects of autonomy-supportive teaching in higher education, the quality and quantity of students’ motivation has a role to play, an aspect which is important to consider in future research and practice.