Academic Achievement and Failure in University Studies: Motivational and Emotional Factors

Abstract

Universities are committed to offering quality education; however, a high rate of academic failure is often observed in the first year of studies. Considering the impact that motivation and emotional aspects can have on students’ commitment to study and therefore on their academic performance, achievement, and well-being, this study aims to identify the factors associated with academic success or failure in 1071 students entering the National Polytechnic School (Quito, Ecuador). The data were compiled from the existing computer records of the university with the permission of the responsible administrative staff. A predictive model has been used and a binary logistic regression analysis was carried out through the step-forward regression procedure based on the Wald statistic to analyze the predictive capacity of the variables related to emotional intelligence, motivational and self- regulated socio-cognitive skills, goal orientation, and prior academic achievement (measured by university entrance marks and through a knowledge test carried out at the beginning of the university academic year). To determine the cut-off point for the best discriminatory power of each of the variables, a Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) curve analysis has been used. The results indicate that the variables that are significant in the prediction of academic success or failure are the two academic performance measures: the emotional attention variable, and the performance-approach goals and the motivational self-efficacy variable. Additionally, the highest predictive power is displayed by the prior academic performance measure obtained through the knowledge test conducted at the beginning of the university course.

To Have What It Takes: A Multi-Tiered Psychological Resource Model of First-Generation College Student Success

“…Theoretically our findings add to the literature examining the role of positive psychology in general and emotional resources in particular within a context that is often viewed as‚ cognitive' in nature. The model we propose underlines the relevance of emotional and social factors in higher education environments (Gilar-Corbi et al, 2020;Jaeger & Eagan, 2007). It also suggests a conceptual link between individual level emotional factors and social level behavior and resources (at least at the perceived level).…”

The Relationship between Learning Styles and Academic Performance: Consistency among Multiple Assessment Methods in Psychology and Education Students

“…Student performance is not only determined by the assessment method. Studies and meta-analyses in the university context suggest that performance is affected by a large number of variables such as emotional attention, motivational self-efficacy, prior academic performance, student motivation, goal-directed learning strategies, and teaching style and practices such as the use of feedback [39,40]. Evidence also shows an association between learning styles and performance [4,17,22,41].…”

The Contribution of Learning and Mental Health Variables in First-Year Students' Profiles

“…Over the last decade, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development has reported that approximately one-third of students entering higher education will not graduate (OECD, 2013). The majority of students' withdrawals occur during the first year of studies (Hultberg et al, 2008;Webb and Cotton, 2018;Gilar-Corbi et al, 2020), a year that is considered extremely critical for the overall success in undergraduates' studies (Perry et al, 2001). Thus, this initial phase of higher education sets the stage for either to earn a degree or dropout from university (Tinto, 1993;Díaz Mujica et al, 2019;Nicoletti, 2019) and still remains a major political concern in Europe (Vossensteyn et al, 2015).…”