Cassidy, S 'Exploring individual differences as determining factors in student academic achievement in higher education' , Studies in Higher Education . (In Press)

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Abstract

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 selfefficacy, approaches to learning, prior achievement and age all produced significant correlations with GPA, regression analysis identified prior achievement, age and academic self-efficacy as the only significant predictors of GPA. Significant increases in academic self-efficacy, deep and strategic approaches to learning and self-confidence, and a significant decrease in internal locus of control 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.

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