The Underprepared College Student: How Non-Cognitive Factors Influence Academic Preparedness

Abstract

The purpose of this exploratory phenomenological study was to explore the influence of non-cognitive factors on academic preparedness. Interviews were conducted with a sample of underprepared college students concerning several areas of non-cognitive factors: early educational factors; personal factors; affective factors; and, non-cognitive skill factors. The students' attitudes and experiences revealed several themes concerning the influence of non-cognitive factors and academic preparedness. Findings related to textual categories indicated personal factors such as the students' experiences of coming from a broken home and family strife, or personal issues such as alcohol abuse and bad decision-making skills were possible reasons for their negative educational experiences. Additionally, their narratives about their youth suggested a lack of parental involvement in their early educational experiences. Structural theme findings suggested the malleability of non-cognitive skill factors such as their creative and practical skills, as well as affective factors, were a positive influence on the students' motivation to continue their degree aspirations. Key findings included a creative ISSN 2162-6952 2014 www.macrothink.org/jse 60 synthesis using cognitive/non-cognitive distinctions that emerged from a deeper understanding discovered within textual categories and structural themes. This study has several implications, as well as recommendations for improving the academic preparedness of academically underprepared college students. Journal of Studies in Education

Investigating Latent Interactions between Students’ Affective Cognition and Learning Performance: Meta-Analysis of Affective and Cognitive Factors

“…This study applied a meta-analytic approach to investigate the relationships between affective and cognitive factors in student learning performance [38][39][40][41][42][43][44]. Our analysis finally identified 18 influencing factors related to student learning achievement/performance.…”

Faculty Perspectives on Underprepared Students

“…As the accessibility to higher education increases, so does the number of underprepared students attending higher education, an unintended outcome from an open access policy (Finkelstein & Thom, 2014). All of the participants agreed that there is pressure to admit students.…”

“…Once the interview concluded, an opportunity for debriefing was offered to review key points or address any concerns a participant may have regarding the interview (Finkelstein & Thom, 2014). Recorded interviews were transcribed from oral speech to written text and analyzed by identifying key words or phrases from each of the interviews (White & Drew, 2011).…”

Predictors of Students’ Academic Success

“…Therefore, the authors claim, the evaluation must focus on aspects which involve thinking and problem-solving abilities. In a study conducted on a sample of 16 students over 18 years old, Finkelstein and Thom (2014) tried to point out the extent to which the non-cognitive factors influence academic performance. The two researchers included the following in the non-cognitive factors category: personal factors (the relationship with the parents, parental literacy), affective factors (attitude towards learning, willingness to put in extra efforts, willingness to seek help), qualification-related factors (creativity, practical skills) and the previous educational experience.…”