Approaches to learning as predictors of academic achievement: Results from a large scale, multi-level analysis

Abstract

The relationships between university students' academic achievement and their approaches to learning and studying continuously attract scholarly attention. We report the results of an analysis in which multilevel linear modelling was used to analyse data from 3,626 Danish university students. Controlling for the effects of age, gender, and progression, we found that the students' end-of-semester grade point averages were related negatively to a surface approach and positively to organised effort. Interestingly, the effect of the surface approach on academic achievement varied across programmes. While there has been considerable interest in the ways in which academic programmes shape learning and teaching, the effects of these contexts on the relationship between approaches to learning and academic outcomes is underresearched. The results are discussed in relation to findings from recent meta-analyses in the field.

Associations Between Occupational Therapy Students’ Approaches to Studying and Their Academic Grade Results: A Cross-Sectional and Cross-Cultural Study

“…The surface approach scale score was associated with GPA only among the Norwegian students. In this instance, lower surface approach scores predicted higher GPA, which is in agreement with previous findings (Herrmann et al, 2017;Richardson et al, 2012;Salamonson et al, 2013;Zeegers, 2001). However, it is apparent from this crosscultural study that the theoretically anticipated associations between the ASSIST scales and academic performance are not always confirmed empirically in diverse samples and settings.…”

“…However, it was the strongest predictor of higher GPA among the students from Norway and Hong Kong (see Table 3). The results from the analysis of the Norwegian and Hong Kong students are in line with previously reported research, which similarly emphasized the strategic approach to studying as a means to achieving good academic outcomes (Diseth & Martinsen, 2003;Herrmann, McCune, & Bager-Elsborg, 2017;Richardson et al, 2012). In contrast, for the students from Australia (and for the total sample), spending more time on self-study was associated with higher GPA results (see Table 3).…”

“…However, it is apparent from this crosscultural study that the theoretically anticipated associations between the ASSIST scales and academic performance are not always confirmed empirically in diverse samples and settings. Herrmann and colleagues (Herrmann et al, 2017), for example, found that the association between surface approach scores and exam grades varied across study programs within Denmark. In line with this reasoning, we found that the same associations also varied between countries.…”

Associations Between Defense Styles, Approaches to Learning, and Achievement Among University Students

“…However, associations appear consistently weak. Moreover, some studies have indicated that a deep approach to learning is unrelated to academic achievement (Karagiannopoulou and Milienos, 2015;Herrmann et al, 2017). The most consistent positive association is between academic achievement and the strategic approach/organized study (Duff, 2003;Diseth et al, 2010;Rytkönen et al, 2012;Milienos, 2013, 2015;Asikainen et al, 2014).…”

“…Also, approaches to learning have been found to have an effect on achievement although the findings are inconsistent (Herrmann et al, 2017). Deep, strategic and surface approaches have been positively and negatively associated, respectively, with academic achievement and study success (Richardson et al, 2012;Haarala-Muhonen et al, 2017;Herrmann et al, 2017;Entwistle, 2018).…”