A Path Analysis Model Pertinent to Undergraduates’ Academic Success: Examining Academic Confidence, Psychological Capital and Academic Coping Factors

Year 2018, Volume: 7 Issue: 1, 133 - 150, 15.01.2018

Berke Kirikkanat , Makbule Kali Soyer

https://doi.org/10.12973/eu-jer.7.1.133

Abstract

The major purpose of this study was to create a path analysis model of academic success in a group of university students, which included the variables of academic confidence and psychological capital with a mediator variable - academic coping. 400 undergraduates from Marmara University and Istanbul Commerce University who were in sophomore, junior and senior years participated in the study. The Academic Behavioral Confidence Scale, the Academic Coping Strategies Scale and the Psychological Capital Test Battery composed of the Academic Self-Efficacy Scale, the Life Orientation Test, the Hope Scale and the Resilience Scale were utilized to disclose the predictive roles of these variables on academic success. The results of path analyses showed that academic confidence and psychological capital had pivotal direct and indirect effects on academic success via the mediator variable – academic coping. Academic coping had also a direct influence on academic success.  The findings of the study are essential for telling both vocational counselors and educational psychologists the fact that career interventions for university students should consider the non-cognitive factors on their academic achievements.

Keywords

Academic success, academic confidence, psychological capital, academic coping strategies, university students

References

• Abouserie, R. (1994). Sources and levels of stress in relation to locus of control and self esteem in university students. Educational Psychology: An International Journal of Experimental Educational Psychology, 14(3), 323-330.
• Adebayo, B. (2008). Cognitive and non-cognitive factors: Affecting the academic performance and retention of conditionally admitted freshmen. Journal of College Admission, 200, 15-21.
• Akin, A. & Cetin, B. (2007). Achievement Goal Orientations Scale: The study of validity and reliability. Eurasian Journal of Educational Research, 7(26), 1-12.
• Akman, Y. & Korkut, F. (1993). Umut Olcegi uzerine bir calisma. Hacettepe Universitesi Egitim Fakultesi Dergisi, 9, 193-202.
• Allan, J. F., McKenna, J. & Dominey, S. (2014). Degrees of resilience: Profiling psychological resilience and prospective academic achievement in university inductees. British Journal of Guidance and Counseling, 42(1), 9-25.
• Anderson, J. C. & Gerbing, D. W. (1988). Structural equation modeling in practice: A review and recommended two-step approach. Psychological Bulletin, 103(3), 411-423.
• Avey, J. B., Luthans, F. & Jensen, S. M. (2009). Psychological capital: A positive resource for combating employee stress and turnover. Human Resource Management, 48(5), 677-693.
• Aydin, G. & Tezer, E. (1991). Iyimserlik, saglik sorunlari ve akademik basari iliskisi. Psikoloji Dergisi, 7(26), 2-9.
• Bagozzi, R. P. & Edwards, J. R. (1998). A general approach for representing constructs in organizational research. Organizational Research Methods, 1(1), 45-87.
• Bandalos, D. L. & Finney, S. J. (2001). Item parceling issues in structural equation modeling. In G. A. Marcoulides & R. E. Schumacker (Eds.), Advanced Structural Equation Modeling: New Developments and Techniques (pp. 269-296). NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
• Bandura, A. (1977). Self-efficacy: Toward theory of behavioral change. Psychological Review, 84(2), 191-215.
• Bandura, A. (1982). Self-efficacy mechanism in human agency. American Psychologist, 37(2), 122-147.
• Bandura, A. (1993). Perceived self-efficacy in cognitive development and functioning. Educational Psychologist, 28(2), 117-148.
• Bandura, A. (1997). Self Efficacy: The Exercise of Control. NY: W. H. Freeman.
• Beauvais, A. M., Stewart, J. G., DeNisco, S. & Beauvais, J. E. (2014). Factors related to academic success among nursing students: A descriptive correlational research study. Nurse Education Today, 34(6), 918-923.
• Bong, M. & Skaalvik, E. M. (2003). Academic self-concept and self-efficacy: How different are they really? Educational Psychology Review, 15(1), 1-40.
• Bartlett, J.E, Kotrlik, I.J.W. and Higgins, C.C. (2001). Organizational research: Determining the appropriate sample size in survey research. Information Technology, Learning and Performance Journal, 19(1) 43-50.
• Baron, R. M. & Kenny, D. A. (1986). The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51(6), 1173-1182.
• Brown, S. D., Lent, R. W. & Larkin, K. C. (1989). Self efficacy as a moderator of scholastic aptitude-academic performance relationships. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 35, 64-75.
• Carver, C. S. & Scheier, M. F. (2002). Optimisim. In C.R. Synder & S.J. Lopez (Eds.), Handbook of Positive Psychology (pp.231-243), USA: Oxford Unversity Press.
• Carveth, J. A. & Geese, T. (1996). Survival strategies for nurse-midwifery students. Journal of Nurse-Midwifery, 41(1), 50-54.
• Chemers, M. M., Hu, L. T. & Garcia, B. F. (2001). Academic self-efficacy and first-year college student performance and adjustment. Journal of Educational Psychology, 93(1), 55-64.
• Coffman, D. L. & MacCallum, R. C. (2005). Using parcels to convert path analysis models into latent variable models. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 40, 253-259.
• Cohen, L., Manion, L. & Morrison, K. (2007). Research Methods in Education (6th ed.). NY: Taylor & Francis.
• Curlette, W. L., Matheny, K. B., Aycock, D. W., Pugh, J. L., Taylor, H. F. & Canella, K. S. (1993). The Coping Resources Inventory Scales for Educational Enhancement (CRISEE). Fayetteville, GA: Health Prisms, Inc.
• Day, L., Hanson, K., Maltby, J., Proctor, C. & Wood, A. (2010). Hope uniquely predicts objective academic achievement above intelligence, personality, and previous academic achievement. Journal of Research in Personality, 44, 550-553.
• DeBerard, M. S., Spielmans, G. I. & Julka, D. L. (2004). Predictors of academic achievement and retention among college freshmen: A longitudinal study. College Student Journal, 38(1), 66-80.
• Demirel, O. (2015). Ogretim Ilke ve Yontemleri: Ogretme Sanati. (21.Baski). Ankara: Pegem Akademi.
• Ensign, J. & Woods, A. M. (2014). Strategies for increasing academic achievement in higher education. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, 85(6), 17-22.
• Esen, E. (2010). Academic achievement of Turkish and American students. Human Architecture: Journal of the Sociology of Self-Knowledge, 8(1), 125-140.
• Feldman, D. B. & Kubota, M. (2015). Hope, self-efficacy, optimism, and academic achievement: Distinguishing constructs and levels of specificity in predicting college grade-point average. Learning and Individual Differences, 37, 210-216.
• Fenollar, P., Roman, S. & Cuestas, P. J. (2007). University students’ academic performance: An integrative conceptual framework and empirical analysis. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 77, 873-891.
• Fisek, G. ( 1982). Psychopathology and the Turkish family: A family systems theory analysis. In C. Kagitcibasi (Ed.), Sex Roles, Family, and Community in Turkey (pp. 295-321). Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
• Fontaine, K. R., Manstead, A. S. R. & Wagner, H. (2004). Optimism, perceived control over stress, and coping. European Journal of Personality, 7, 267-281.
• Fraenkel, J. R. & Wallen, N. E. (2006). How to Design and Evaluate Research in Education. (6th ed.). NY: McGraw-Hill.
• Gonzales-Torres, M. C. & Artuch-Garde, R. (2014). Resilience and coping strategy profiles at university: Contextual and demographic variables. Electronic Journal of Research in Educational Psychology, 12(3), 621-648.
• Gore, P. A. (2006). Academic self-efficacy as a predictor of college outcomes: Two incremental validity studies. Journal of Career Assessment, 14(1), 92-115.
• Gunduz, B. (2014). Ogrenci kisilik hizmetleri ve rehberlik. In M. E. Deniz & A. Erozkan (Ed.), Psikolojik Danisma ve Rehberlik (pp.3-30). Ankara: Maya Akademi.
• Hatchett, G. T. & Park, H. L. (2004). Relationships among optimism, coping styles, psychopathology, and counseling outcome. Personality and Individual Differences, 36, 1755-1769.
• Hoyle, R. H. (1995). Structural Equation Modeling: Concepts, Issues, and Applications. USA: Sage Publications.
• Hsieh, P. H., Sullivan, J. R., Sass, D. A. & Guerra, N. S. (2012). Undergraduate engineering students’ beliefs, coping strategies, and academic performance: An evaluation of theoretical models. The Journal of Experimental Education, 80(2), 196-218.
• Huang, S. (2011). Predicting students’ academic performance in college using a new non-cognitive measure: An instrument design and a structural equation exploration of some non-cognitive attributes and academic performance. Unpublished Doctorate Dissertation, The Ohio State University, Graduate School of Education, USA.
• Jafri, H. (2013). A study of the relationship of psychological capital and students’ performance. Business Perspectives and Research, 1(2), 9-16.
• Kagitcibasi, C. (2005). Autonomy and relatedness in cultural context: Implications for self and family. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 36(4), 403-422.
• Khan, A., Siraj, S. & Li, L. P. (2011). Role of positive psychological strenghts and big five personality traits in coping mechanism of university students. International Proceedings of Economics Development and Research, 20, 210-215.
• Khan, M. (2013). Academic self-efficacy, coping, and academic performance in college. International Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities, 5, 1-11.
• Kirikkanat, B. & Kali Soyer, M. (2015). The Academic Behavioral Confidence Scale: The Adaptation Study With Turkish Undergraduates. International Journal of Technical Research and Applications, 1(30), 11-20.
• Kirikkanat, B. & Kali Soyer, M. (2016). Adaptation of The Academic Coping Strategies Scale in Turkey: A Study With Undergraduates. International Journal of Teaching and Education, 4(1), 26-44.
• Kline, R. B. (2005). Principles and Practice of Structural Equation Modeling. (2nd ed.). NY: The Guilford Press.
• Kuncharin, L. & Mohamad, A. R. B. (2014). Coping strategies on academic performance among undergraduate students in Thailand. The Standard International Journals (The SIJ) Transactions on Industrial, Financial and Business Management (IFBM), 2(3), 58-61.
• Kuzgun, Y. (2013). Rehberlik ve Psikolojik Danisma (12.Baski). Ankara: Nobel Akademik Yayincilik.
• Kwok, O., Hughes, J. N. & Luo, W. (2007). Role of resilient personality on lower achieving first grade students’ current and future achievement. Journal of School Psychology, 45(1), 61-82.
• Lazarus, R. S. & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, Appraisal, and Coping. NY: Springer Publishing Company.
• Li, L. I. & Xiangpei, H. E. (2011). The researches on positive psychological capital and coping style of female university graduates in the course of seeking jobs. In J. K. Hung (Ed.), Proceedings of 2011 International Symposium – The Female Survival of Development (pp. 221-226). Australia: St. Plum Blossom Press.
• Luthans, F., Youssef, C. M. & Avolio, B. J. (2007). Psychological Capital. NY: Oxford University Press.
• Luthans, B.C., Luthans, K.W. & Jensen, S.M. (2012). The impact of business school students’ psychological capital on academic performance. Journal of Education for Business, 87(5), 253-259.
• Martin, A. J. & Marsh, H. W. (2009). Academic resilience and academic buoyancy: Multidimensional and hierarchical conceptual framing of causes, correlates and cognate constructs. Oxford Review of Education, 35(3), 353-370.
• Masten, A. S. & Reed, M. G. J. (2002). Resilience in development. In C.R. Synder & S.J. Lopez (Eds.), Handbook Positive Psychology (pp.74-88), USA: Oxford Unversity Press.
• Masten, A. S. (2007). Resilience in developing systems: Progress and promise as the fourth wave rises. Development and Psychopathology, 19(3), 921-930.
• Matsunaga, M. (2008). Item parceling in structural equation modeling: A primer. Communication Methods and Measures, 2(4), 260-293.
• Messick, S. (1979). Potential uses of noncognitive measurement in education. Journal of Educational Psychology, 71(3), 281-292.
• Multon, K. D., Brown, S. D. & Lent, R. W. (1991). Relation of self-efficacy beliefs to academic outcomes: A meta-analytic investigation. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 38(1), 30-38.
• Nes, L. S. & Segerstrom, S. C. (2006). Dispositional optimism and coping: A meta-analytic review. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 10(3), 235-251.
• Nicholson, L., Putwain, D., Connors, L. & Hornby-Atkinson, P. (2013). The key to successful achievement as an undergraduate student: Confidence and realistic expectations?. Studies in Higher Education, 38(2), 285-295.
• Nounopoulos, A., Ashby, J. S. & Gilman, R. (2006). Coping resources, perfectionism, and academic performance among adolescents. Psychology In The Schools, 43(5), 613-622.
• Onwuegbuzie, A. J. & Snyder, C. R. (2000). Relations between hope and graduate students’ coping strategies for studying and examination-taking. Psychological Reports, 86, 803-806.
• Ozguven, I. E. (2014). Psikolojik Testler. (12th ed.). Ankara: Nobel Yayinevi.
• Palanivelu, G. & Govindarajan, K. (2012). Relationship between the academic confidence and the academic achievement of the higher secondary students studying in Tanjore district. International Journal of Teacher Educational Research, 1(3), 1-7.
• Putwain, D., Sander, P. & Larkin, D. (2013). Academic self-efficacy in study-related skills and behaviors: Relations with learning-related emotions and academic success. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 83, 633-650.
• Qingquan, P. & Zongkui, Z. (2009). Psychological capital, coping style and psychological health: An empirical study from college students. 1st International Conference on Information Science and Engineering (ICISE): 26-28 December 2009 (pp. 3391-3394), Nanjing: IEEE.
• Randsdell, S. (2001). Predicting college success: The importance of ability and non-cognitive variables. International Journal of Educational Research, 35, 357-364.
• Rao, P. S. R. S. (2000). Sampling Methodologies with Applications. Florida: Chapman & Hall / CRC.
• Raykov, T. & Marcoulides, G. A. (2006). A First Course in Structural Equation Modeling. (2nd ed.). NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
• Richardson, M., Abraham, C. & Bond, R. (2012). Psychological correlates of university students’ academic performance: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 138(2), 353-387.
• Ross, S. E., Niebling, B. C. & Heckert, T. M. (1999). Sources of stress among college students. College Student Journal, 33(2), 312-317.
• Ruthig, J. C., Perry, R. P., Hall, N. C. & Hladkyj, S. (2004). Optimism and attributional retraining: Longitudinal effects on academic achievement, test anxiety, and voluntary course withdrawal in college students. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 34(4), 709-730.
• Sander, P. & Sanders, L. (2006). Understanding academic confidence. Psychology Teaching Review, 12(1), 29-42.
• Sander, P., Putwain, D. & de la Fuente, J. (2013). Using structural equation modelling to understand predictors of undergraduate students’ academic performance. Theory and Method in Higher Education Research: International Perspectives on Higher Education Research, 9, 219-241.
• Sanders, L. & Sander, P. (2003). Academic behavioral confidence: A comparison of medical and psychology students. Electronic Journal of Resarch in Educational Psychology, 13(5), 633-650.
• Schaefers, K. G., Epperson, D. L. & Nauta, M. M. (1997). Women’s career development: Can theoretically derived variables predict persistence in engineering majors? Journal of Counseling Psychology, 44, 173-183.
• Scheier, M. F. & Carver, C. S. (1985). Optimism, coping, and health: Assessment and implications of generalized outcome expectancies. Health Psychology, 4(3), 219-247.
• Scheier, M. F. & Carver, C. S. (1992). Effects of optimism on psychological and physical well-being: Theoretical overview and empirical update. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 16, 201-228.
• Scheier, M. F. & Carver, C. S. (2009). Optimism. In S. J. Lopez (Ed.), The Encyclopedia of Positive Psychology (pp.656-663). Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.
• Schumacker, R. E. & Lomax, R. G. (2010). A Beginner’s Guide to Structural Equation Modeling. (3rd ed.). NY: Routledge – Taylor & Francis Group.
• Schunk, D. H. (1991). Self-efficacy and academic motivation. Educational Psychologist, 26, 207-231.
• Sing, I. & Jha, A. (2013). Anxiety, optimism and academic achievement among students of private medical and engineering colleges: A comparative study. Journal of Educational and Developmental Psychology, 3(1), 222-233.
• Siu, O. L., Bakker, A. B. & Jiang, X. (2014). Psychological capital among university students: Relationships with study engagement and intrinsic motivation. Journal of Happiness Studies, 15(4), 979-994.
• Skinner, E. A., Edge, K., Altman, J. & Sherwood, H. (2003). Searching for the structure of coping: A review and critique of category systems for classifying ways of coping. Psychological Bulletin, 129(2), 216-269.
• Snyder, C. R., Harris, C., Anderson, J. R., Holleran, S. A., Irving, L. M., Sigmon, S. T. et. al. (1991). The wills and the ways: Development and validation of an individual-differences measure of hope. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 60(4), 570-585.
• Snyder, C. R. (2002). Hope theory: Rainbows in the mind. Psychological Inquiry, 13(4), 249-275.
• Snyder, C. R., Shorey, H. S., Cheavens, J., Pulvers, K. M., Adams III, V. H. & Wiklund, C. (2002). Hope and academic success in college. Journal of Educational Psychology, 94(4), 820-826.
• Steinberg, L. (2002). Adolescence. (9th Ed.). USA: McGraw-Hill.
• Steinhardt, M. & Dolbier, C. (2008). Evaluation of a resilience intervention to enhance coping strategies and protective factors and decrease symptomatology. Journal of American College Health, 56(4), 445- 453.
• Steptoe, A. & Marmot, M. (2003). Burden of psychosocial adversity and vulnerability in middle age: Associations with biobehavioral risk factors and quality of life. Psychosomatic Medicine, 65(6), 1029-1037.
• Struthers, C. W., Perry, R. P. & Menec, V. H. (2000). An examination of the relationship among academic stress, coping, motiation and performance in college. Research in Higher Education, 41(5), 581-592.
• Sullivan, J. R. (2010). Preliminary psychometric data for the Academic Coping Strategies Scale. Assessment for Effective Intervention, 35(2), 114-127.
• Suls, J. & Fletcher, B. (1985). The relative efficacy of avoidant and nonavoidant coping strategies: A meta-analysis. Health Psychology, 4(3), 249-288.
• Tabachnick, B. G. & Fidell, L. S. (2007). Using Multivariate Statistics. (5th ed.). USA: Pearson Education
• Taylor, S. E. & Stanton, A. L. (2007). Coping resources, coping processes, and mental health. The Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 3, 377-401.
• Terzi, S. (2006). Kendini Toparlama Gucu Olceginin uyarlanmasi: Gecerlik ve guvenirlik calismalari. Turk Psikolojik Danisma ve Rehberlik Dergisi, 3(26), 77-86.
• Thien, L.M. & Razak, N.A. (2013). Academic coping, friendship quality, and student engagement associated with student quality of school life: A partial least square analysis. Social Indicators Research, 112(3), 679-708.
• Thomas, J. W. & Rohwer, W. D. (1986). Academic studying: The role of learning strategies. Educational Psychologist, 21, 19-41.
• The Council of Higher Education. (2017a). Unit statistics: Number of units by types. Retrieved from https://istatistik.yok.gov.tr/
• The Council of Higher Education. (2017b). Higher education statistics: Number of vocational training school & undergraduate students [Data file]. Retrieved from https://istatistik.yok.gov.tr/yuksekogretimIstatistikleri/2017/2017_T12.pdf
• The Council of Higher Education. (2017c). Higher education statistics: Summary table of number of graduates [Data file]. Retrieved from https://istatistik.yok.gov.tr/yuksekogretimIstatistikleri/2017/2017_M1.pdf
• The Council of Higher Education. (2017d). Higher education statistics: Number of academic units by types [Data file]. Retrieved from https://istatistik.yok.gov.tr/yuksekogretimIstatistikleri/2017/2017_T107.pdf
• Turkish Statistical Institute (2017). Labor force statistics: The rate of unemployment. Retrieved from http://www.tuik.gov.tr/HbGetirHTML.do?id=24634
• Ting, S. M. R. (2003). A longitudinal study of non-cognitive variables in predicting academic success of first-generation college students. College and University, 78(4), 27-31.
• Wagnild, G. M. & Young, H. M. (1993). Development and psychometric evaluation of the Resilience Scale. Journal of Nursing Measurement, 1(2), 165-178.
• Yilmaz, M., Gurcay, D. & Ekici, G. (2007). Akademik Oz-yeterlik Olceginin Turkce’ye uyarlanmasi. Hacettepe Universitesi Egitim Fakultesi Dergisi, 33, 253-259.
• Yilmaz, M. B. & Orhan, F. (2011). The validity and reliability study of the Turkish version of the Study Process Questionnaire. Education and Science, 36 (159), 70-83.
• York, T. T. (2015). Defining and measuring academic success. Practical Assessment, Research and Evaluation, 20(5), 1-20.