Predictor variables of academic achievement for psychology students in distance education

Abstract

Introduction. The discussion around academic achievement in the context of distance education has raised the need to develop studies that allow identifying the variables that best predict it. The goal of this study was to analyze the fit of a structural equations model that assumes that sociodemographic variables, personality traits, motivation and learning styles are predictors of academic achievement. Method. 354 distance psychology students from a private university in Bogotá D.C., who were recruited from a stratified probability sampling, voluntarily participated. It was a non-experimental explanatory study conducting a structural equations analysis. Results. Findings indicate that characteristics such as being male, older, with a theoretical and/ or reflective style favor academic performance, as well as open-mindedness and tenacity, while the identified motivation and amotivation negatively affect students’ grade point average. Discussion and Conclusions. The proposed model is coherent with the studies in face-to-face learining mode and shows that both sociodemographic and non-cognitive variables are relevant to explain academic achievement in distance learning mode.