Predictors of university students’ academic achievement: A prospective study

Abstract

The aim of this study was to identify the specific cognitive, motivational and behavioural predictors of two measures of university students' academic achievement (grade point average and student efficacy status), after controlling for dispositional variables and student adjustment at the beginning of college. A representative sample of 250 undergraduate students was followed over a period of 3 years. Hierarchical regression analysis and logistic regression analysis were conducted to check the contribution of the included variables. The hypothesized significant role of cognitive, behavioural and motivational factors in students' academic achievement has been confirmed, with the automatic thoughts related to the fear of disappointing parents and time and study environment management skills as the most pronounced predictors for both criteria. Outcome expectation is a significant predictor of the students' efficacy status only, while action control beliefs and goal orientations (performance and work avoidance) are significant predictors only of the GPA. In conclusion, the results suggest that, besides personality, other more manageable variables play an even more significant role in university students' academic achievement.