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Motivation : its relationship to attrition of college students

The primary purpose of this research study was to determine if scores from a measure of self-reported motivation, the Academic Motivation Scale (AMS), increased ability to predict persistence during the student's first 2 years of college. This scale was designed by Robert Baker of Clark College (Massachusetts) and was designed specifically to measure academic motivation to succeed in college. This study examined contribution of the AMS to the prediction of attrition after controlling for the traditional variables used in predicting college performance. These variables included the Scholastic Aptitude Test scores, high school percentile rank, gender, and socioeconomic status of the family.A sample of 221 matriculating college freshmen from intact classes were used in this study. Random assignment of the classes assured a representative sample.A regression analysis was used to determine what contribution scores on the AMS made to the prediction of attrition when the traditionally used variables (Sex, SES, SATV, SATM) were held constant. The conclusion of the analysis revealed that the AMS did not add significantly to the prediction of attrition in this study. / Department of Educational Psychology

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:BSU/oai:cardinalscholar.bsu.edu:handle/175852
Date January 1988
CreatorsDietzer, Margaret Smith
ContributorsKlem, John L.
Source SetsBall State University
Detected LanguageEnglish
Format2, vi, 70 leaves ; 28 cm.
SourceVirtual Press

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