Predictors of Academic Achievement in Online Peer Learning among Undergraduate Students in a Malaysian Public University

Abstract

An online peer learning through social media tools such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram has been networking interrelated undergraduates as social groups in higher learning institutions. In that respect, it has become an emerging phenomenon in the academia. Yet, not much is known about the effect of social media on the undergraduates" academic achievement. Therefore, the main purpose of this study is to identify the relationship of students' peer engagement, academic self-efficacy, social influence, peer feedback and collaboration with students' academic achievement while practising online peer learning via social media and at the same time to predict the factors that influencing students' academic achievement among undergraduate students in Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM). The study was based on the quantitative method in nature with a correlational design using a set of the questionnaire as instrument adapted from previous studies and validated by a panel of experts. The sampling technique is stratified. A total of 376 responses were collected. The finding of regression analysis indicated that five of the variables have a significant effect while the only peer feedback has an insignificant effect. The most important factor is social influence, followed by collaboration, performance expectancy, peer engagement and academic self-efficacy. The model explained 38.9% of the variation in the academic achievement of undergraduate students at UPM. As a result, this study confirms that collaboration between peer in an online environment is valid and able to predict the academic achievement.

Does Online-Formed Peer Relationship Affect Academic Motivation During Online Learning?

“…Based on the study results, it was found that the quality of peer relationships plays a significant role in students' academic motivation. Even in an online context, this finding seemed to be in line with previous studies (Amin et al, 2018;Buote et al, 2007;Willard W Hartup & Stevens, 1997;Hosan & Hoglund, 2017;Razak & See, 2010;Wentzel & Watkins, 2002) good academic achievement. In this case, peers can be referred to as academic enablers who can facilitate student participation in class (Wentzel & Watkins, 2002).…”

“…Another prominent factor is peer relationships. Through peer relationships, students can get rewards, reinforcement, or pressure (Elliot, Dweck, & Yeager, 2017), such as feedback, formation of achievement parameters, and collaboration (Amin, Hassan, & Jalil, 2018).…”

“…In this case, peers act as academic enablers who can facilitate student participation in the classroom (Wentzel, 2017). The facilities provided by these peer relationships consist of giving feedback, achievement parameters (Amin et al, 2018), and motivation for the students themselves (Razak & See, 2010;Shanti, Janssens, & Setiadi, 2021). In light of the findings from Filade et al (2019), peers can help students be motivated to obtain the best results.…”

“…However, there are still very limited studies about peer relationships and their role on academic motivation during online learning, especially in a pandemic. Those studies have only been carried out in a context where students can still meet face-to-face (Amin et al, 2018;Buote et al, 2007;Hosan & Hoglund, 2017; Journal of Educational, Health and Community Psychology (Vol 11, No 1, 2022E-ISSN 2460 Vania, Yudiana, Susanto.…”

Self-efficacy, Motivation, Learning Strategy and Their Impacts on Academic Performance

“…Malaysian researchers have recently broadened their study on psychological impact of academic performance, some psychological factors which have found to have significant connection with academic performance in tertiary level includes emotional intelligence, achievement motivation, self-efficacy and self-regulated learning strategies (Mahyuddin, Elias & Noordin, 2009;Elias, Mustafa, Roslan & Noah, 2011;Yusuf, 2011;Amin, Hassan & Jalil, 2018). To understand the impact better, this present study focuses on exploring the significance of three psychological factors (self-efficacy, motivation and learning strategy) and also added the impact of demographic factor which is age in determining the academic performance of Malaysian undergraduate students.…”