Publication
Title
Identifying science students at risk in the first year of higher education : the incremental value of non-cognitive variables in predicting early academic achievement
Author
Abstract
Science students study success rates in the first year of higher education (FYHE) are problematic. Although a considerable amount of previous research has been carried out to investigate the determinants of students academic achievement in FYHE, there has been little discussion about the incremental value of non-cognitive factors over and above cognitive determinants in the prediction of early (after the first semester of FYHE) academic achievement in a science educational context. Furthermore, the complex nature of the relationships between determinants of academic achievement is frequently neglected. An investigation that addresses these gaps is important to provide the insights necessary to identify at-risk science students early in their academic career. Therefore, the main aim of this research was to examine the incremental value of non-cognitive variables (processing strategies, regulation strategies, academic motivation, self-concept, self-efficacy) in predicting students early academic achievement in a science FYHE context, over and above domain-specific prior knowledge (cognitive) and after controlling for gender, age and prior education. Hereto, path-analyses were used on the data of 781 first-year students within a faculty of science of a Belgian university college in the academic year 20162017. Results show that cognitive variables and pre-entry characteristics predict early academic achievement. However, after controlling for these characteristics, evidence for the assumption that non-cognitive variables are determinants of early academic achievement in science education contexts could not be found in this study. Implications for theory and research are discussed.
Language
English
Source (journal)
European journal of psychology of education. - Lisboa, 1986, currens
Publication
Lisboa : 2019
ISSN
0256-2928 [print]
1878-5174 [online]
DOI
10.1007/S10212-018-0399-4
Volume/pages
34 :4 (2019) , p. 847-872
ISI
000480782300008
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
Full text (open access)
Full text (publisher's version - intranet only)
UAntwerpen
Faculty/Department
Research group
Project info
Who succeeds in the first-year of Higher Education? A longitudinal study on the impact of prior achievement, academic self-concept and self-regulation.
Publication type
Subject
Affiliation
Publications with a UAntwerp address
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 19.07.2018
Last edited 02.10.2024
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