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JOURNAL OF HIGHER EDUCATION THEORY AND PRACTICE

Predicting Students’ Academic Performance: The Joint Effect of Satisfaction and Motivation in Two Public Colleges in Southwest USA

Author(s): Edward O. Akoto, Eunice V. Akoto, Christie Hough, Nathan Campbell, Ajay Aggarwal

Citation: Edward O. Akoto, Eunice V. Akoto, Christie Hough, Nathan Campbell, Ajay Aggarwal, (2017) "Predicting Students’ Academic Performance: The Joint Effect of Satisfaction and Motivation in Two Public Colleges in Southwest USA," Journal of Higher Education Theory and Practice, Vol.17, Iss. 8, pp. 58-72

Article Type: Research paper

Publisher: North American Business Press

Abstract:

This study examines the mediating roles of goal motive, an SDT perspective, and satisfaction with college life on academic performance. A survey of two public higher education institutions in Southern USA showed that both samples reported autonomous learning climate and moderate satisfaction with college life. The regression analysis using the PROCESS Macros in SPSS revealed that the strongest predictors of academic performance were the learning climate and satisfaction with college life, but satisfaction mediates the effect of learning climate. Thus, satisfaction seems to be more important than motivation in the two contexts. The outcome provides critical insights that may inform SDT research in higher education and student’s performance management.