Internal Academic Locus Of Control Research Articles

Maternal/paternal helicopter parenting and school adjustment in adolescents: The mediating roles of internal and external academic locus of control

There is little evidence regarding the impact of helicopter parenting (HP) on adolescents’ school adjustment (SA). This study examined gender differences in maternal/paternal HP, internal/external academic locus of control (ALC) and SA, and the mediating effect of internal/external ALC in the relationship between maternal/paternal HP and SA in adolescents. The participants of the study were 447 adolescents. The results revealed no significant gender differences in study variables except for external ALC. Adolescent boys indicated significantly higher levels of external ALC than girls. HP predicted ALC and SA, and internal/external ALC had a mediating role in the relationship between HP and SA. This study provides important insights for researchers and practitioners seeking to understand the effects of maternal/paternal HP on adolescent SA. The results of our study suggest that HP may be associated with lower SA among adolescents and that internal ALC may be a key mechanism in this relationship.

A model proposal explaining the influence of smartphone addiction related factors on high school students’ academic success

AbstractAn exploratory sequential mixed-method study is designed to develop and test a comprehensive model explaining the relationships between factors associated with smartphone addiction and high school students’ academic achievement. Involving two main phases of qualitative and quantitative, focus group discussions with high school students and interviews with teachers were conducted in the first phase, both to decide on the factors and to reveal the relationships between the factors in the model. According to the qualitative results, the most important factors were found as social media usage, cyberloafing, academic procrastination, external and internal academic locus of control. Then, a hypothesis model involving these factors was developed to explain high school students' academic achievement. Obtained from 410 high school students, quantitative data are collected online by the use of some scales measuring the factors included in the model. Using the path analysis method, the hypothesis model was tested, and it was observed that the model fit the data well. As a result, the factors that most influence academic achievement were found as duration of social media usage, external academic locus of control, smartphone addiction, internal academic locus of control, academic procrastination, and cyberloafing respectively. The uniqueness of the presented model in this research is believed to lie in its holistic perspective on the relationships between smartphone addiction and related factors, and their effects on academic achievement. Looking from a big picture, this model is expected to provide a roadmap for practitioners and decision-makers in terms of how to improve students’ academic achievement.

Development and Validation of the Tertiary Student Locus of Control Scale

This study developed and validated a measure of Locus of Control in university students. Tertiary academic locus of control is the general expectancy that university students have regarding their ability to change their academic outcomes. Students who have an internal academic locus of control expect that their own efforts, skill, or luck will lead to academic success, while those with an external locus of control believe that academic outcomes are a result of luck, destiny, fate, or the behaviors of others. A series of steps were taken to develop the Tertiary Student Locus of Control (TSLOC) scale. These steps included defining the construct, developing a nomological network of the construct, and constructing an item pool of 66 items. Following the creation of the item pool, an item analysis was conducted on the 66-item measure to produce the 30-item TSLOC scale. The draft scale was administered to 100 participants (80 females and 20 males predominantly of Afro-Caribbean heritage from English-speaking Caribbean islands). The TSLOC scale had an internal consistency of .96 and had strong concurrent validity and moderate discriminant validity. A principal component analysis indicated that the TSLOC was a multidimensional scale composed of three underlying dimensions. The TSLOC scale was found to be valid and reliable for the current population of Caribbean tertiary students. The limitations and implications are discussed.

The Relationships between Positive Thinking Skills, Academic Locus of Control and Grit in Adolescents

The main purpose of this study is to examine the possible relationships between academic locus of control, positive thinking skills and grit in high school students. The participants of the research are composed of 288 adolescents continuing their high school education from 4 different schools in Agri, Turkey which were selected with convenient sampling. 168 of the participants are male and 120 are female students. Pearson's moment correlation analysis was used for determining relations among variables, and multiple regression analysis was used to determine the regression coefficient of the variables on each other. Parametric tests were used, because the data showed a normal distribution. p <.01 significance level criteria were taken. According to the findings, positive correlation between internal academic locus of control and positive thinking skills was found (r=.54). A positive correlation was found between the internal academic locus of control and grit at (r=.58). A positive correlation was found between positive thinking skills and grit (r=.61). The internal academic locus of control, external academic locus of control and positive thinking skills explain the 50% of the grit's total variance. Based on this evidence, it can be said that the academic locus of control and positive thinking skills are important predictors for grit.

Akademik Kontrol Odağı Ölçeği Ergen Formunun Psikometrik Özellikleri

The aim of this research is to examine the psychometric properties of the Academic Locus of Control Scale (Akin, 2007) in adolescence. The research was conducted with 587 (301 + 286) adolescents in total. Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) of sampling adequacy was calculated as .72 and a significant result was found on Bartlett’s test of Sphericity χ= 561.619 (p< .001, df = 136). Results confirmatory factor analyses demonstrated that 17 items yielded two factors as original form and that the two-dimensional model was appropriate (χ² = 697.06, df =392, RMSEA= .059, GFI = .94, CFI = .93, AGFI = .92 and SRMR = .047). Factor loadings ranged from .32 to .88. Cronbach alpha internal consistency coefficient was found as .71,5 for internal academic locus of control sub-scale, .81 for external academic locus of control sub-scale. In the concurrent validity significant relationships were found between academic locus of control, locus of control, student responsibility, and student responsibility. Test-retest reliability coefficient was as .81 for internal academic locus of control and .79 for external academic locus of control. Corrected item-total correlations ranged from .41 to .81. Overall results demonstrated that the Academic Locus of Control Scale can be named as a valid and reliable instrument that could be used in the field of education with adolescents.

Metacognition: As a Predictor of One’s Academic Locus of Control

The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of metacognition on one’s academic locus of control. The study’s sample group consists of 451 university students enrolled in various programs at Sakarya University, Turkey. In this study, the Metacognitive Awareness Inventory and the Academic Locus of Control Scale were used. The correlations and path analysis were examined. The hypothesis model was tested through path analysis. The findings of the path analysis reveal that while an internal academic locus of control was predicted to have a positive relation with metacognition, an external academic locus of control was predicted to have a negative relation. In conclusion, the research indicates that metacognition affects academic locus of control in that students whose internal academic locus of control is high are more likely to adopt metacognition than are students whose external academic locus of control is high. Therefore, the current findings act to increase our understanding of the different relationships between metacognition and academic locus of control.

Student Academic Support as Predictor of Academic Locus of Control in Turkish University Students

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationships between academic locus of control and student academic support. The sample of study consists of 477 university students who were enrolled in different programs at Sakarya University, in Turkey. In this study, Academic Locus of Control Scale and Student Academic Support Scale were used. The relationships between student academic support and academic locus of control were examined using correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis. According to results internal academic locus of control was predicted positively by dimensions of student academic support. Further, external academic locus of control was predicted negatively by dimensions of student academic support. Results were discussed in the light of literature.

Exploring individual differences as determining factors in student academic achievement in higher education

The study investigated the association and relative influence of cognitive/motivational and demographic factors on final degree grade point average (GPA) in a single undergraduate cohort. Although academic self-efficacy, approaches to learning, prior achievement and age all produced significant correlations with GPA, regression analysis identified prior achievement (R 2 change = .288), age (R 2 change = .201) and academic self-efficacy (R 2 change = .062) as the only significant predictors of GPA. Significant increases in academic self-efficacy (d = .46), deep (d = .43) and strategic (d = .37) approaches to learning, and self-confidence (d = .33), and a significant decrease in internal academic locus of control (d = .50), were also reported when comparing first and final year scores. Conclusions suggested that prior academic achievement, age and academic self-efficacy provide a partial explanation for academic achievement in higher education, that any measure of prior achievement must be relevant, that self-efficacy appears to be the most relevant perceived control construct in a learning context, and that further work focusing on age in the context of academic achievement in higher education is both necessary and warranted.

A structural equation model of predictors of online learning retention

This study examined the effects of internal academic locus of control (ALOC), learning strategies, flow experience, and student satisfaction on student retention in online learning courses. A total number of 282 adult students at the Korea National Open University participated in the study by completing an online survey adopted from previous studies to measure the levels of five variables: internal ALOC, use of learning strategies, flow experience, satisfaction, and retention. We employed a structural equation model (SEM) to test our conceptual model using AMOS 18.0. The research findings indicate that there were significant direct effects between internal ALOC and retention, between satisfaction and retention, between internal ALOC and satisfaction, between flow and satisfaction, and between learning strategies and flow. Moreover, we noted the significant mediating effects of student satisfaction and students' experience of flow on their retention in the model.

Academic Locus of Control and Self-Handicapping

This study aims to examine the possible links between academic locus of control and self-handicapping. Participants were 382 university students from Sakarya University. The Academic Locus of Control Scale and the Self-handicapping Scale were used as measures. Findings showed that self-handicapping correlated positively with internal academic locus of control. Results from structural equation modeling demonstrated that the model is saturated. According to path analysis results, self-handicapping was predicted positively by internal academic locus of control and external academic locus of control.

Social self-efficacy, academic locus of control, and internet addiction

The purpose of this research is to examine the relationship of internet addiction, social self-efficacy, and academic locus of control. Participants were 311 university students who completed a questionnaire package that included the Online Cognition Scale, the Academic Locus of Control Scale, and the Perceived Social Self-efficacy Scale. The hypothesis model was tested through structural equation modeling. According to results internal academic locus of control was predicted positively by social self-efficacy. Also internet addiction was explained negatively by social self-efficacy and internal academic locus of control and positively by external academic locus of control. Results were discussed in the light of literature.

Ego Development and Adolescent Academic Achievement

This study investigated ego developmental differences in adolescent academic orientations and academic achievement. A sample of 142 male and female high school students completed the Washington University Sentence Completion Test and self‐report measures assessing academic locus of control, learning orientation (LO), and grade orientation (GO). With increasing ego development, adolescents demonstrated increased internal academic locus of control, stronger LOs, diminished GOs, and higher class rank. Regression analysis indicated that ego level was a significant predictor of academic achievement after controlling for the effects of verbal intelligence and gender. Implications for fostering academic success through theoretically relevant interventions are discussed.

Study Skills of Undergraduates as a Function of Academic Locus of Control, Self-Perception, and Social Interdependence

To investigate whether undergraduates' study skills are related to scores on academic locus of control, self-perception, and social interdependence 154 students from varied disciplinary backgrounds and enrolled in an introductory course in developmental psychology completed the Study Habits Inventory, the Academic Locus of Control Scale for College Students, the Self-perception Profile for College Students, and The Social Interdependence Scale. Correlations showed students with the best study skills tended to have an internal academic locus of control, more individualistic tendencies, higher perceived scholastic competence, higher perceived self-worth, and higher perceived intellectual ability.

Academic Locus of Control, Self‐Esteem, and Perceived Distance From Home as Predictors of College Adjustment

Eighty‐eight female college freshmen completed questionnaires designed to assess academic locus of control, self‐esteem, and geographical distance from home (actual and perceived) as predictors of college adjustment. Results indicated that an internal academic locus of control, a high level of self‐esteem, and a perception that the distance from home was “just right” were related to four dimensions of college adjustment (Personal, Academic, Social, and Attachment). Regression analysis revealed that each predictor variable significantly increased the overall predictive accuracy of college adjustment. No associations, however, were found between actual distance and the various dimensions of college adjustment. Finally, the implications of using multiple predictors of college adjustment are discussed.