Mindset, Academic Motivation, And Academic Self-Efficacy As Correlates Of Academic Achievement Among Undergraduate Students in Communication Sciences and Disorders Programs

Problem Higher education serves many stakeholders including students, parents, faculty, staff, university administrators, and other contributors. Those stakeholders are all linked with one purpose: the success of the student. That success or failure is most commonly measured by achievement through grade point average (GPA). The academic demands within the college/university setting is high. Limited academic achievement can result in academic failure, being placed on academic probation, even losing scholarships and grants. Students enter college, progress through college, and often graduate without having a real understanding for what it truly takes to be academically successful and what factors may contribute to that success. The study examined the extent to which types of mindset, academic motivation, and academic self-efficacy correlated with academic achievement among undergraduate communication sciences and disorders students. Method Undergraduate communication sciences and disorders students in the Great Lakes States of Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, and Illinois completed a 75-item survey to determine the correlation between academic achievement and mindset, academic motivation, and academic self-efficacy. Descriptive analysis, Spearman Rank correlation, and categorical regression (CATREG) were used to analyze the data. Results Results of this current study indicate that undergraduate communication sciences and disorders students report average to higher than average GPAs. Undergraduate communication sciences and disorders students have very high extrinsic motivation (M = 5.90), high intrinsic motivation (M = 5.22), and very low amotivation (M = 1.62). Fifty-four percent of undergraduate communication sciences and disorders students have high self-efficacy and higher growth mindset than fixed mindset. The results of this study indicate that amotivation is negatively correlated to academic achievement. Therefore, the higher the academic achievement, the lower the amotivation. Academic self-efficacy is also correlated to academic achievement. Hence, the higher the academic self-efficacy, the higher the academic achievement. Conclusions Undergraduate communication sciences and disorders students, who are “average to higher than average” in their academic achievement are more extrinsically motivated. They present with almost no amotivation, and have generally high self-efficacy. The undergraduate communication disorders student has more of a growth mindset than a fixed mindset. This population is resilient, motivated more by externally contributing factors, and demonstrates learning-based development and changeability. They have positive feelings about their academic skills which are found to be directly related to their average to high-average academic achievement