A Multiple Mediation Analysis of the Effect of Prior Performance on Academic Achievement Through Student Teachers’ Motivational Orientations

Eric Anane

doi:10.11648/j.her.20200504.12

Abstract

The study investigated the mediational effect of student teachers’ motivational orientations on the relationship between prior performance and academic achievement. This cross-sectional correlation study employed a survey approach in the collection of quantitative data. Stratified and Systematic sampling approaches were used in selecting 500 student teachers for the study. The results indicated that students ranked extrinsic motivation, value for task or course materials, and self-efficacy for learning as high motivators for learning. The independent samples t-tests for differences in means of first- and second-year students’ reported motivational orientations showed a statistically significant difference in their use of extrinsic motivation, control of learning beliefs, and task value as learning strategies. First-year students’ reported means were higher than that of the second-year students. The results from the study, taken as a set, indicated that student teachers’ motivational orientations significantly mediated the relationship between prior performance (entry aggregates) and academic achievement (GPA). Approximately 16.7% of the change in the effect of prior performance on academic achievement was due to the presence of the motivation variables. Overall, prior performance plus student teachers motivational orientations explained about 42% of the variations in their academic achievement.

Highlights

In keeping with global trends and the demand for a more diversified curriculum in teacher training, coupled with the perennial show of poor performance among Ghanaian basic schools students both nationally and internally, much of which is often attributed to the teacher, Ghana has initiated a reform programme to train her teachers with the aim of developing professional teachers who are well-equipped with knowledge, skills, and the disposition to learn and affect their students to meet the needs of the quality education in the 21st century
The results of an investigation into student teachers’ motivational orientations used in a professional training environment and how they impacted on their academic performance in colleges of education are presented
The results revealed that prior performance significantly predicted test anxiety, a=.034, t=3.140, r2=.020, p=.002; extrinsic motivation, a=.029, t=3.643, r2=.034, p

Summary

Introduction

In keeping with global trends and the demand for a more diversified curriculum in teacher training, coupled with the perennial show of poor performance among Ghanaian basic schools students both nationally and internally, much of which is often attributed to the teacher, Ghana has initiated a reform programme to train her teachers with the aim of developing professional teachers who are well-equipped with knowledge, skills, and the disposition to learn and affect their students to meet the needs of the quality education in the 21st century. For teachers to be able to help their students imbibe learning dispositions such as tendencies towards persisting, questioning, collaborating in their learning, it is believed that they need to have demonstrated such characteristics as effective learners - it is expected of student teachers to be active agents in their learning during and after training. They need to be reflective in nature, think critically about all the available information to them in other to make sound

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