Academic Self-Concept and Critical Thinking Dispositions: Devising a Predictive Model of College Students’ Degree Commitment

Abstract

Educational researchers incessantly endeavor to address underlying reasons for academic success/failure, and Degree Commitment constitutes a critical sought-after academic outcome regarding college students, which is considerably associated with higher student retention rates. Educational institutions may create effective preventive strategies and interventions for minimizing attrition issues by identifying factors leading to higher Degree Commitment. The aim of the current research was to explore the potential predictive relationship between higher demonstration of college students’ Academic Self-Concept and higher levels of Critical Thinking Dispositions on their commitment of further pursuing their chosen degree. A questionnaire-based survey method was employed, adopting a correlational design on a recruited purposive sample of 120 Greek college students of a privately-owned educational institution. A multiple regression statistical analysis generated a weak positive correlation (9.2%) between the predictors, with Academic Self-Concept being the strongest predictor of Degree Commitment, implying that the combination of the aforementioned academic facets significantly predicts Degree Commitment, but with a small generalization explanatory power to a population sharing common characteristics with the utilized sample. Although the devised model is of minimal practical use, it proposes an initial attempt to construct a holistic model of academic success, while simultaneously highlighting the necessity for developing interventions that robustly target Critical Thinking Dispositions and, most importantly, Academic Self-Concept. Future research may explore factors influencing the predictors under investigation, compare them between students deriving from traditional educational systems and those deriving from international educational systems, and explore alternative factors concerning college success and attrition within various sociocultural contexts.

A Systematic Review of Academic Self-Concept Measures in First-year Engineering Education

“…Analyses performed on assessment data of 15-year-old Belgian students [34] identified conceptual differences between academic self-concept and academic self-efficacy, along with causal and predictive properties within them. This lent support to the findings of Bong and Skaalvik [33]. Self-concept has a strong causal influence on academic self-efficacy beliefs and is predictive in the sense that academic self-concept was found to be a predictor of motivational variables among an individual.…”

“…Math ability [18], [19] Academic self-description [20] College persistence [21], [33] STEM intrinsic value [22] STEM interest [18], [30] Academic competence [24] Perceived competence [25], [30] Perceived STEM performance [18] Belief in performance [25] Professional identity (vocational identity) [21] STEM identity [30] Sense of belonging [23], [26] Resiliency [23] Future goals/intentions [23] Academic ability [18], [19], [31], [32] Intellectual self-confidence [19], [27], [32] Drive to achieve [19], [32] Self-acceptance [27] Self-esteem [27] Academic involvement [28], [32] Expectancy for success [29] Attainment value [30] Utility value [30] Recognition [30] Motivation [26]…”

Effect of Emotional Intelligence and Critical Thinking Disposition on Resilience of the Student in Transition to Higher Education Phase

“…Students with CT dispositions perform better in problem-based learning (Pu et al, 2019) that significantly impacts the academic success of first-year college students (Stupnisky et al, 2008). Further, CT disposition was found to be a significant predictor of academic persistence in college (Chatzinikolaou & Tsirides, 2020) that is positively related to self-esteem (Abasi et al, 2013; Pilevarzadeh et al, 2014) and self-efficacy (Kim et al, 2015). Researchers pointed that self-esteem and self-efficacy affect resilience of the undergraduate students (Wen et al, 2020).…”