Related Experiment Videos
University students' academic performance: an integrative conceptual framework and empirical analysis
Pedro Fenollar1, Sergio Román, Pedro J Cuestas
1University of Murcia, Spain.
The British Journal of Educational Psychology
|May 31, 2007
Summary
Study strategies mediate the impact of achievement goals and self-efficacy on academic performance. Self-efficacy has the strongest indirect effect, while larger class sizes negatively affect student performance.
Area of Science:
- Educational Psychology
- Higher Education Studies
- Academic Performance Research
Background:
- Predicting and explaining academic performance is crucial in higher education.
- Understanding factors influencing student success and persistence is of utmost importance.
- Identifying key determinants of academic achievement is a primary goal in educational research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and test a conceptual framework examining achievement goals, self-efficacy, and class size.
- To investigate the direct and indirect effects of these factors on academic performance.
- To determine the mediational role of study strategies in this framework.
Main Methods:
- Structural equation modeling was employed for data analysis.
- A sample of 553 university students from various faculties participated.
- Student grades were collected at the end of the academic year.
Main Results:
- The mediational model, with study strategies as a mediator, provided a better fit to the data.
- Achievement goals and self-efficacy did not show direct effects on academic performance.
- Self-efficacy demonstrated the most substantial indirect effect on performance.
Conclusions:
- Study strategies play a key mediational role linking achievement goals and self-efficacy to academic performance.
- Mastery goals enhance deep processing and effort, positively impacting performance.
- Increasing class size was associated with diminished academic performance.
Related Concept Videos
01:29Theory of Attribution II: Kelley's Covariation Theory
Attribution theory plays a crucial role in social psychology, helping to explain how individuals interpret the causes of behavior. One prominent model within this field is Harold Kelley's covariation theory, which provides a systematic approach to determining whether internal traits or external circumstances drive a person's actions. The model posits that individuals rely on three key types of information—consensus, consistency, and distinctiveness—to make these judgments.Consensus: Comparing...
01:29Reliability and Validity
Reliability and validity are two important considerations that must be made with any type of data collection. Reliability refers to the ability to consistently produce a given result. In the context of psychological research, this would mean that any instruments or tools used to collect data do so in consistent, reproducible ways.
01:24Sources of Self-Esteem II: Performance Feedback
Self-esteem is intricately tied to our perception of competence and our ability to exert control over our lives. One of the primary sources of this perception is performance feedback — the ongoing evaluation of our actions in terms of success and failure. According to Franks and Marolla (1976), people derive self-worth from experiencing themselves as causal agents, capable of achieving goals and overcoming obstacles. This process nurtures a critical component of self-esteem: self-efficacy,...
01:22Case Studies
There are many research methods available to psychologists in their efforts to understand, describe, and explain behavior and the cognitive and biological processes that underlie it.
01:37Social Loafing
Another way in which a group presence can affect performance is social loafing—the exertion of less effort by a person working together with a group. Social loafing occurs when our individual performance cannot be evaluated separately from the group. Thus, group performance declines on easy tasks (Karau & Williams, 1993). Essentially individual group members loaf and let other group members pick up the slack. Because each individual’s efforts cannot be evaluated, individuals become less...
02:16Surveys
Often, psychologists develop surveys as a means of gathering data. Surveys are lists of questions to be answered by research participants, and can be delivered as paper-and-pencil questionnaires, administered electronically, or conducted verbally. Generally, the survey itself can be completed in a short time, and the ease of administering a survey makes it easy to collect data from a large number of people.