Self-Efficacy, Locus of Control, Self-Assessment of Memory Ability, and Study Activities as Predictors of College Course Achievement.

N

6

Academic Achievement; College Students; Correlation; Educational Research; Higher Education; Locus of Control; Memory; Prediction; Self Concept; Self Efficacy; Student Characteristics; Study Habits; Study Skills

A study examined the possible relationships between student study behaviors and academic achievement and represented a continuation and extension of an earlier large-scale project undertaken at the Far West Laboratory. Subjects, 184 college students enrolled in an introductory psychology course, had their study skills, self-efficacy, academic aptitude, locus of control, and memory assessed. Results indicated that: (1) the self-efficacy instrument (Self-Concept of Academic Ability Test) is more accurately described as a measure of academic self-concept than as a measure of self-efficacy; (2) in certain academic contexts, the measure of academic self-concept is not as important a predictor of academic achievement as is locus of control; (3) the best predictor of course achievement was the subjects' self-assessment of their memory ability; and (4) four subscales of the study activities measure were significant predictors of course achievement. (Two tables of data are attached.) (RS)

1990

ED317972