This manuscript demonstrates the value of understanding locus of control in higher education. Understanding this value provides educators with the ability to potentially predict academic outcomes and have the foresight to guide students to achievement. First, the manuscript identifies and explores the classic theories of motivation from the…

Student life is marked by substantial growth in areas such as self-regulation abilities. In this article, the experiences of first-year Psychology students are explored through the lenses of the self-determination theory. Both content and thematic analyses were done with 79 students' reflections on the aspects they regarded as…

There is a growing concern among educators and university administrators that the high cost of tuition fees has encouraged tertiary level students to adopt a "consumerist view" of tertiary education, where education is seen as a service-for-payment. Anecdotal evidence suggests that this belief may cause lecturers to compromise the…

Excessive entitlement--an exaggerated or unrealistic belief about what one deserves--has been associated with a variety of maladaptive behaviors, including a decline in motivation and effort. In the context of tertiary education, we reasoned that if students expend less effort to obtain positive outcomes to which they feel entitled, this should…

There has been growing research interest in achievement emotions in university teaching-learning processes in recent years. While their importance has been firmly established, there continues to be a need for assessment and intervention models. The objective of this report is to present the "Competency Model for Studying, Learning and…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to confirm the predictive validity of several antecedents to students' early perceptions of future performance in collegiate courses. Design/methodology/approach: A non-experimental design was used to test a proposed model based on a review of relevant literature. Students completed surveys capturing the…

Although schools have always struggled with student failure, retention, and attrition, the turn of the new century has produced added pressures for schools to reduce student dropout rates. In the current political and economic environment, increased costs and reduced budgets are forcing difficult choices in how best to spend limited resources.…

In the United States first-generation students (FGSs), those who are the first in their families to attend university, are recognised as disadvantaged and receive government support. Amidst affirmative action debates in higher education in South Africa, an increased awareness has emerged about challenges that FGSs in this country face. A…

This study examined the relative impact of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and personality variables on procrastination behavior of college students. A total of 96 undergraduates completed the Procrastination Assessment Scale-Students, the Multidimensional-Multiattributional Causality Scale, the Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale, the Work…

This study was designed to validate subjects' classification of eleven attributions according to dimensions of locus, stability, controllability, predictability, and globality. Results indicated that subjects' dimensional assignment of five of Weiner's eight original attributions differed from Weiner's assignment. Differences existed in the…

The effects of external rewards on measures of performance and subsequent interest in a learning task are examined in this literature review and synthesis. Implications for teacher education are discussed. (IAH)

A random sample of medical students was compared with others who were unable to cope with unanticipated academic frustration. Techniques of attribution therapy and desensitization in the counseling of these students proved to be effective in improving coping behavior in six of seven cases. (Author/LBH)

Counselor-trainees received positive or negative feedback about their performance in a client interview. The trainees' internal-external locus of control orientation had no significant influence on their reaction, but the type of feedback did. "Success" feedback increased trainees' expectancy, willingness to improve, and receptivity to…

The study found that the academic motivation of 80 hearing-impaired freshmen college students to improve English writing skills was not related to their levels of college degree plans but was related to the strength of their internal locus of control. (DB)

This study investigated how the online instruction in a graduate instructional technology course affects learners psychological factors, such as locus of control and achievement motivation. It was expected that learners would be more internal at the completion of the course than at the beginning, and that learners would have higher achievement…