Logan, Olivia (2015) Examining Optimism, Self-Efficacy and Academic Achievement within Overall Position and Tertiary Rank High School Students. Coursework Masters thesis, University of Southern Queensland. (Unpublished)
Abstract
An ongoing emphasis in educational and psychological research is understanding factors that influence both academic achievement and future career orientation in high school, particularly in senior school students. Previous research indicates that self-efficacy, optimism, resilience and conscientiousness all play a role in influencing overall academic achievement. The first aim of the current study was therefore to investigate resilience, optimism, self-efficacy and conscientiousness versus student academic performance across both Tertiary Rank (TR) and Overall Position (OP) pathways. Additionally, as the TR pathway is a relatively new senior pathway, a secondary aim of the current study was to investigate student experiences across the TR and OP groups. Firstly, an online survey was made available to senior school students over three separate data collection periods spanning across a one year period (Time 1, 2 and 3). Time 1 data collection was administered Semester 1 of 2014 (n = 61) and again to the same student sample in Semester 2 of 2014 (Time 2; n = 23). The final phase of data collection consisted of the same online battery opened to the larger student population (Years 10, 11 and 12) in Semester 1 of 2015 (Time 3; n = 182). Two focus groups were run in August of 2014, the first comprised of TR students (n = 16) and the second comprised of OP students (n = 9). Quantitative analysis revealed significant correlations between self-efficacy and overall academic achievement at Time 3, with no significant differences between OP and TR programs at Time 1 and Time 2, respectively. Additionally significant correlations were observed between optimism and overall academic achievement at Time 3. Non-parametric within and between group t-tests revealed this relationship was more pronounced in TR students at Time 2. The implications of these findings suggest that student optimism and self-efficacy are significant contributors to academic achievement. These findings are encouraging, as educators and teachers might invest in implementing resources and strategies to nurture such traits in students, to enhance academic achievement. Thematic analysis revealed student experiences differed across TR and OP groups. TR students reported less stress and more optimism regarding future career goals. OP students reported dissatisfaction with their program and less optimism regarding their reaching their future career goals. OP students also reported lack of flexibility in subject choice and pressure to perform higher academically. The implications of these findings suggest that the TR program potentially offers more to students, perceived as assisting them to reach their future career goals. Future research should seek to further investigate the perceived differences in OP and TR students to enable modifications to the program that better develop student career aspiration pathways.
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| Item Type: | Thesis (Non-Research) (Coursework Masters) |
|---|---|
| Item Status: | Live Archive |
| Additional Information: | Current UniSQ staff and students can request access to this thesis. Please email research.repository@unisq.edu.au with a subject line of SEAR thesis request and provide: Name of the thesis requested and Your name and UniSQ email address |
| Faculty/School / Institute/Centre: | Historic - Faculty of Health, Engineering and Sciences - School of Psychology and Counselling (1 Jan 2015 - 31 Dec 2021) |
| Supervisors: | Lorelle Burton; Erich Fein |
| Qualification: | Master of Psychology (Clinical) |
| Date Deposited: | 27 Aug 2025 01:34 |
| Last Modified: | 27 Aug 2025 01:34 |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | high school students ; career orientation ; academic achievement ; TR ; Tertiary Rank ; OP ; Overall Position ; student optimism ; self-efficacy |
| Fields of Research (2008): | 17 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 1799 Other Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 179999 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences not elsewhere classified |
| Fields of Research (2020): | 52 PSYCHOLOGY > 5299 Other psychology > 529999 Other psychology not elsewhere classified |
| URI: | https://sear.unisq.edu.au/id/eprint/52515 |
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