Abstract
ABSTRACTStudents’ personal predictors of academic success are particularly relevant for first-year college students, given the specific challenges that these students face when entering higher education (HE). Academic success in HE has been related to multiple factors, including the students’ approaches to learning (SAL), satisfaction (linked to commitment and persistence), study time (effort), and prior academic achievement. This study analyzes the combined effect of these predictors on perceived academic success. Data from 247 students was collected using the Approaches and Study Skills Inventory for Students and other specific measures to assess presage and process variables of academic success. Although academic success is multidimensional and difficult to explain, factors such as prior academic achievement, satisfaction with the course, SAL, and study time contribute to explain perceived academic success in first-year college students.
Highlights
ParticipantsData from 247 first year students were collected in a public university of approximately 10,000 students in the south of Portugal
Students’ personal predictors of academic success are relevant for first-year college students, given the specific challenges that these students face when entering higher education (HE)
Testing of indirect effects was conducted using the bias-corrected bootstrap method (n = 10,000) to establish confidence intervals (Cheung & Lau, 2008; Geiser, 2013). These were used to determine whether surface and strategic approaches mediated the relationship between the presage variables and academic success in terms of perceived academic performance
Summary
Data from 247 first year students were collected in a public university of approximately 10,000 students in the south of Portugal. Students were asked to report their admission score for the particular university and degree they were attending. Student satisfaction was assessed by asking students one question about the degree to which they felt satisfied with their academic experience in college. Students’ approaches to studying were assessed using one section of the Approaches and Study Skills Inventory for Students (ASSIST) (Tait, Entwistle, & McCune, 1998), composed of 52 items, with a five-point Likert response scale ranging from 1 (disagree) to 5 (agree). Subjective performance was measured using a single item, which asked the students how well they have been doing in their assessed work overall (based on the grades they have obtained), with answers ranging from 9 (very well) to 1 (rather badly)
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