Social Factors Influencing Academic Success

Christin Carpenter, Isa Eugenio, Kerris Gordon, Dominique Pearson, Kirk Williamson

Introduction2

How social factors influence the academic success of

university/college students

Research Topic

Methods and Measures Sample 37 question multiple

choice survey built via

Qualtrics

Distributed via social

media sites and email

listservs

Measure of academic

success: GPA

Convenience sample

comprised of 106

college/university

students

45 males and 61

females between the

ages of 18-24

The Impact of Cultural Stereotypes on

Academic Success3

Does an individuals race hinder or perpetuate their success in the classroom?

Sandra Romero, “Culture, Race, Ethnicity Factors in Educational Interest, Student Success,” found that Latino’s would demean other Latino’s who were excelling, saying they have “lost their culture.”

James D. Wolfe studied the fall to fall success of students success in a developmental math course and found that White and Older students were more likely to succeed than their non-white and traditional age counterparts.

Hypothesis: Minorities are less likely to excel in the classroom than their White counterparts due to their cultural stereotypes.

Results4

A greater percentage of Caucasian students had a GPA

>3.5

The African American sample perceived themselves as

better students than the Hispanics and Caucasian

students.

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

GPA < 3.0 GPA 3.0-3.5 GPA > 3.5

Perc

en

tag

e o

f E

thn

ic G

rou

p

Actual GPA

Hispanic/Latino African American Caucasian

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

A B C D

Pe

rce

nta

ge

of

Eth

nic

Gro

up

Perceived Type of Student

Hispanic/Latino African American Caucasian

Conclusion 5

Although not directly supported by the data, cultural stereotypes have an impact on student success, deriving from groupthink and other outside forces.

Further Research:

Examine the impact of teachers cultural bias

Consider the role of bicultural efficacy and peer engagement

Impact of family status upon arriving to the United States or after immigrating

Economic Factors & Academic

Success6

Research Question: How do financial and economic factors influence academic success?

Previous Literature:

Students with debt (either individual debt or family debt) have lower GPAs in college and are less likely to graduate from college.

Hypothesis: Students who have any type of loan-based financial aid will consider their financial status more impactful on their studies and will perform more poorly in college (as indicated by current GPA) due to financial-related stress.

Results:7

Students with loans to pay for their education: Students who do not have loans:

54% of students with loans in their name to pay for their education

considered their financial status as having a moderate (33%), large

(4%), or very large (17%) impact on their grades.

28% of students without loans considered their financial status as

having a moderate (21%), large (6%), or very large (1%) impact on

their grades.

Results8

Of the students with loans to pay for their education: 8% had below a 3.0 GPA, 67% had a GPA of 3.0-3.5, and 25% had a GPA greater than 3.5.

Of the students without loans, 11% had below a 3.0 GPA, 37% had a GPA of 3.0-3.5, and 52% had a GPA greater than 3.5.

Students who do not have loans:Students with loans to pay for their education:

Conclusion9

Students who did have loans in their name

considered their financial status more influential

on their grades than students who did not have

loans in their name to pay for their education.

Students without loans had higher GPAs than

those who did have loans.

However, these findings are overall inconclusive

because of the small sample size of students

with loans who took the survey (n=24) in

comparison to those who did not have loans

(n=81).

Parent/Alloparent Involvement 10

Research Question: Do parent and alloparent

involvement in a child’s education impact academic success?

Hypothesis: Increased parent and/or

alloparent involvement in a child’s education will positively affect academic success

Chicago Longitudinal

Study: Child-Parent Center Program

Children who participated in the CPC Program, in comparison to a similar group of children who did not, showed significantly greater academic performance

Other Studies: Increased support, parental or

alloparental, has a positive affect on academic performance

Results11

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

veryuninvolved

uninvolved moderatelyinvolved

involved veryinvolved

Below 3.0 Between 3.0-3.5 Above 3.5

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Below 3.0 Between 3.0-3.5 Above 3.5

Those with GPAs >3.5 and parents in

the moderately involved or lesser

categories all reported having outside

academic support

Positive relationship between parent

academic involvement prior to college

and GPA

Parent involvement in their child’s

education prior to college and high school

GPA

Parent involvement in their child’s

education prior to college and college GPA

Results12

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

20

1 (Not atall)

2 3 4 5 (A lot)

Below 3.0 Between 3.0 - 3.5 Above 3.5

Positive relationship between alloparental

figures offering academic support and

college GPA

No clear relationship between

parental grade pressure and

college GPA

Possible Reverse

Causality :

High Parental Grade Pressure Good GradesVs.

Bad Grades High Parental Grade Pressure

Extent of pressure from parents to

make good grades and college GPA

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

Below 3.0 Between 3.0 -3.5

Above 3.5

College GPA

Average number of alloparental figures

offering academic support

Conclusion13

Relationship between GPA and parental academic

involvement prior to college

Alloparental figures seem to have a positive affect on

academic success

Cant prove statistical significance due to small, homogenous

sample

In-depth studies with larger, more diverse samples with

various measures of academic success have found

significant correlations

Personal Habits14

Research Question: How does the amount of time spent on leisure activities and procrastination affect academic success?

Previous Literature

“The Role of Study Skills In Academic Achievement of Students” (Fazal, Shawana2012)

This journal found that students that used time-management had greater academic achievements than students who used other types of skills

“Torn Between Study and Leisure” (Grund, Brassler, and Fries 2014)

The study in this journal found that students who had motivation strength were able to self-regulate during both study and leisure activities

“The Place Of Social Networks In Our Daily Life and Their Effect On Today’s Youth” (Johnson and Johnson 2009)

This practical review found that certain leisure activities, such as browsing on social media, can have harmful effects on effectively managing leisure time, which could inevitably cause affects on academic performance

Hypotheses

1. An increase in time spent doing leisure activities will have a negative effect on academic success, represented by a decrease in GPA.

2. Students that procrastinate longer will have lower GPA than students who procrastinate less.

Results15

0

5

10

15

20

25

Never Lessthan

Once aMonth

Once aMonth

2-3Times aMonth

Once aWeek

2-3Times aWeek

Daily

GPAs of participants who procrasinate

Below 3.0 Between 3.0 - 3.5 Above 3.5

There is a wide-range of GPAs regardless of the amount of

time spent either engaging in leisure activities or

procrastination

0

5

10

15

20

25

Never Not VeryOften

ModeratelyOften

Often Very Often

GPAs of participants engaging in leisure time

Below 3.0 Between 3.0 - 3.5 Above 3.5

Findings/Conclusion16

Our data concluded that there was not a

significant relationship between GPA values and

the average amount of time students spent on

activities that did not involve academic work

Therefore, both hypothesis could not be

supported

Health/Lifestyle 17

Research Question: How do personal health habits affect academic success?

Previous Literature: Exercise and Educational Relationships in Adolescents

(Field, Diego, and Sanders 2001)

Food Insecurities and Performance on Cognitive Tests (Jyoti, Frongillo, and Jones 2005)

Intersection of Sleep, Alcohol, and GPA amongst College Students (Singleton and Wolfson 2009)

Hypothesis: Engaging in lifestyle practices that are deemed “healthy” by the CDC has a positive effect on GPA.

Results18

Less than 8 Hours of

Sleep

8 Hours of

Sleep

Less than 8 Hours of Sleep & Drink 2-

3 Times a Week• Small positive relationship

between adequacy of sleep and

GPA

• Small positive relationship

between inadequate sleep,

frequent alcohol consumption,

and GPA

• Similar trends for exercise and

healthy eating habits

Conclusion19

There is a moderate positive relationship

between students who engage in healthy habits,

i.e. drinking in moderation, getting adequate

sleep, and eating nutritiously, and an increase in

GPA.

Overall Conclusion 20

Found relationships between various social factors and their affect on academic success; however, were unable to find significant results due to limitations

Limitations

Rather homogenous convenience sample: UNC students, Caucasian, upper-middle class

GPA as a uniform measure of academic success: different majors, different schools, grade scales etc.

Survey: possible false reporting, high-level

Further research suggestions

Larger and more diverse sample, detailed survey, supplemental research—personal interviews, etc.

References21

Coonrad, Lane. "The Effects of Financial Aid Amounts on Academic Performance." Illinois Wesleyan University, 2007. Web.

26 Oct. 2014.

Fazal, Shawana, et al. "The Role Of Study Skills In Academic Achievement Of Students: A Closer Focus On Gender."

Pakistan Journal Of Psychological Research 27.1 (2012): 37-51. Academic Search Complete. Web. 27 Oct. 2014.

Grund, Axel, Nina K. Brassler, and Stefan Fries. "Torn Between Study And Leisure: How Motivational Conflicts Relate To

Students' Academic And Social Adaptation." Journal Of Educational Psychology 106.1 (2014): 242-257. Academic Search

Complete. Web. 27 Oct. 2014.

Johnson, David W., and Roger T. Johnson. “An Educational Psychology Success Story: Social Interdependence Theory

and Cooperative Learning.” Educational Researcher 38.5 (2009): 365-379. JSTOR. Web. 27 Oct. 2014.

Miedel, Wendy T., and Arthur J. Reynolds. "Parent Involvement in Early Intervention for Disadvantaged Children." Journal

of School Psychology 37.4 (1999): 379-402. Web. 28 Oct. 2014.

Romero, Sandra. “Culture, Race, Ethnicity Factors in Educational Interest, Student Success.” The Ledger 16 Apr. 2008

Singleton, Royce A., and Amy R. Wolfson. “Alcohol Consumption, Sleep, and Academic Performance Among Colelge

Students.” Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs 70.3 (2009): 355-63.

Wolfle, James D. “Success and Persistence of Developmental Mathematics Students Based on Age and Ethnicity.”

Community College Enterprise 2012: 39. JSTOR. Web.

Zhan, Min, and Deirdre Lanesskog. "The Impact of Family Assets and Debt on College Graduation." George Warren Brown

School of Social Work. Washington University in St. Louis, 2013. Web. 26 Oct. 2014.