DIFFERENTIAL PREDICTION OF ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT BY COGNITIVE STRATEGIES AND ACHIEVEMENT GOALS AMONG UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS IN BENUE STATE, NIGERIA
Keywords:
Cognitive strategies, Achievement goals, Academic achievement, Motivation, Undergraduate students and Benue stateAbstract
This study investigated the differential prediction of academic achievement by cognitive strategies and achievement goals among undergraduate students in Benue State, Nigeria. Three hypotheses were tested and correlational survey research design was employed. The population of the study comprises of 8448 (300 level) undergraduate students in Benue. The sample size of the study is 365. Multi-stage sampling technique was used and 310 students responded and returned their questionnaires. Cognitive strategies questionnaire (CSQ), Achievement goals questionnaire-Revised (AGQ-R) and students’ cumulative grade point average (CGPA) were used as instruments for data collection. The instruments were validated through face validity. For the reliability, Achievement Goals Questionnaire-Revised: mastery approach goals .775, mastery avoidance goals .909, performance approach goals .846 and performance avoidance goals .837. Cognitive Strategies: rehearsal strategies .800, elaboration strategies .837, organization strategies .825 and critical thinking strategies .839. Data were analyzed with multiple regression and independent sample t- test statistics. The findings of the study revealed that: there is significant differential prediction of academic achievement by cognitive strategies and achievement goals. Beta weights (β) for cognitive strategies is .925 and -.002 for achievement goals with cognitive strategies as a higher predictor. There is no significant difference in achievement goals (t=.105, p = 0.916) and cognitive strategies (t =.453, p = 0.651) of Arts and Science students. There is no significant gender difference in achievement goals (t = .898, p = 0.370) and cognitive strategies (t = .735, p = 0.463) of students. It was concluded that Cognitive strategies predict academic achievement of students better than achievement goals. It was recommended that students should be sensitized to utilize cognitive strategies to improve their academic achievement. Teachers should adopt cognitive oriented teaching strategies to improve academic achievement of students. Domains of cognitive strategies should be introduced in teachers’ training curriculum.
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