Weedon, Suzanne (2009) Non-cognitive Factors and High School Achievement: One Piece in the Puzzle of Student-School Engagement. Honours thesis, University of Southern Queensland. (Unpublished)
Abstract
Research has established that cognitive skills contribute towards 25% of academic achievement which leaves 75% attributed to other factors. Some of these many be noncognitive factors. Why is it that some students achieve well at school, while others with equal cognitive ability, do not reach their potential? It is often due to the influence of non-cognitive factors. Non-cognitive factors are seen to contribute directly towards the quality of student engagement and school achievement, and ultimately towards the retention of students through to senior schooling. This study uses five specific noncognitive factors, Achievement Striving, Engagement, Feelings About School, gender and ethnicity, and investigates their impact on school achievement. It draws from data collected by the American-based, Education Testing Service (ETS), using a Year 8 student cohort of N = 382, from white/other, black or Hispanic ethnicity.. The factors used in this study were derived from questionnaires included in the student test-battery. Following a factor analysis procedure, six scale factors were extracted which were: Work Ethic, Perfectionism, Absorbed, Distracted, Positive School Feelings and Negative School Feelings. Four core curriculum subjects (language, maths, science and social science) were used to develop the academic achievement variable, GPA. A range of analytical procedures were conducted, including an ANOVA and multiple regressions, to determine the relationships between the scale variables, the demographic variables and GPA and to find which scale variables could predict GPA. Results showed that significant differences existed in GPA scores between gender groups and between the ethnic groups. Five of the six scale variables correlated significantly with GPA, the exception of Absorbed. This result was most unexpected. Work Ethic and Perfectionism were the only variables that predicted GPA significantly, suggesting the promotion of these variables amongst students could improve school results. Differences were seen among gender and ethnic groups with the scale variables: females had a higher work ethic than males; females felt worse about school than males; and black students were more diligent at school than white/other students, and both were more diligent than Hispanic students. Further research could include comparing a range of teaching styles and environments.
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| Item Type: | Thesis (Non-Research) (Honours) |
|---|---|
| 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 Sciences - Department of Psychology (Up to 30 Jun 2013) |
| Supervisors: | Fogarty, Gerry |
| Qualification: | Bachelor of Science (Honours) (Psychology) |
| Date Deposited: | 16 Mar 2026 03:14 |
| Last Modified: | 16 Mar 2026 03:14 |
| 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/52865 |
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