Antecedents of academic performance of university students: academic engagement and psychological capital resources

Abstract

Predicting academic performance is of key importance to the success, wellbeing and prosperity of students, their families, the economy, and the society at large. This study investigates the relationship between academic engagement, psychological capital (PsyCap) and academic performance. Data were collected in two different universities, one in Spain and another in Portugal. Students completed two self-report questionnaires regarding academic engagement and Psychological Capital. Academic performance was assessed through Grade Point Average, provided by the universities at the end of the exam period. The samples consisted of 389 and 243 undergraduate students, respectively. Results showed a positive relationship between academic engagement and PsyCap, on the one hand, and academic performance on the other, in both samples. Results also supported PsyCap as a full mediator in the relationship between academic engagement and academic performance. Exploration of alternative models yielded superior fit for the proposed model. Accordingly, academically engaged students were likely to experience higher levels of PsyCap, which in turn positively impacted their academic performance. The results point to the importance of considering psychological predictors, rather than the prevalent reliance on traditional predictors of academic performance.

Linking Decent Work With Academic Engagement and Satisfaction Among First-Generation College Students: A Psychology of Working Perspective

“…Previous career development literature has documented a positive relation between work engagement and work satisfaction (Rayton & Yalabik, 2014), and scholars suggest that academic satisfaction is analogous to job satisfaction in academic settings (Allen, 1996). The positive relation between academic engagement and academic performance has also been confirmed empirically (Martinez et al, 2019). Similarly, scholars have previously found support for the positive relation between academic engagement and academic satisfaction (Astin, 1993; Jimenez-Mejias et al, 2015; Korobova & Starobin, 2015; Urquijo & Extremera, 2017).…”

Enhancing Internal Learning in Teams: The Role of Network Centrality and Psychological Capital of Undergraduate Students

“…Lee and Song (2010) argued that the PsyCap in the academic field contributed to the strengthening of learning outcomes. For Martínez (2019), the development of PsyCap can help students balance the challenges of academic life or at least allow students to evaluate these challenges as manageable, which can facilitate the achievement of high performance. Thus, we argue that PsyCap can also allow students to set goals and work hard to achieve them, which can drive the learning process.…”

“…For Roorda et al (2011), the study of internal learning in teams is considered important, given that it is a predictor of academic success and future career opportunities for students. Thus, analyzing the factors that drive learning in the academic context has been an important priority for students, university administrators, and policymakers (Martínez et al, 2019).…”

Semester Course Load and Student Performance

“…Caviglia-Harris and Maier ( 2020 ) find that grades are positively associated with conscientiousness in early semesters and with grit up until students’ final year. Sweet et al ( 2019 ) and Martínez et al ( 2019 ) find a positive relationship between psychological capital and college GPA.…”

“…Recent work in economics, educational psychology, and higher education have expanded and refined the list of student-based inputs affecting educational attainment and academic success to include the importance of personality characteristics (Schmitt et al 2009 ; Heckman and Kautz 2012 ; Richardson et al 2012 ; Kautz et al 2014 ; Caviglia-Harris and Maier 2020 ; Sweet et al 2019 ; and Martínez et al 2019 ), peers (Berthelon et al 2019 ; Pu et al 2020 ) and student health (Larson et al 2016 ; and Wallis et al 2019 ). Each of these categories of determinants represent a wide literature covering specific cases from practical intelligence (Schmitt et al 2009 ), grit (Fosnacht et al 2019 ), substance abuse (Wallis et al 2019 ), and stress from financial or family difficulties (Larson et al 2016 ).…”