Academic Achievement of College Students in General and Professional Courses

Abstract

Achievement in any field is an area of utmost interest. A lot of importance is given to achievement in academics in India. The present study explores the relative contributions of personality (neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness), achievement motivation and meta-cognitive awareness of 160 urban and semi-urban, collegegoing students on their academic achievement. Purposive Sampling was done. The “academic achievement index” of each of the participants was collected whichwas the dependent variable measure. Stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that in case of General Stream courses, Openness and Achievement Motivation significantly predicted academic achievement. Considering Professional stream courses, Extraversion, Knowledge of Cognition, Achievement Motivation, Regulation of Cognition were significant predictors of academic achievement. The above findings have important implications in the field of Educational and Social Psychology.