Course experience, approaches to learning and academic achievement

Purpose - The present study seeks to compare scores on factors from the Course Experience Questionnaire (CEQ) with scores on an abbreviated version of the Approaches and Study Skills Inventory for Students (ASSIST) and examination grade among undergraduate psychology students. The purpose is to investigate the relationship between course experience and approaches to learning, and to examine their relative importance as predictors of academic achievement. Design/methodology/approach - Confirmatory factor analyses and structural equation modelling were utilised in order to find measurement models for each of the constructs and to test hypothesised structural relations between these constructs. Findings - The original CEQ and ASSIST factors were reproduced. A model in which course experience factors predicted SAL was supported, but the same model did not provide evidence for any indirect or mediator effect between course experience, approaches to learning and academic achievement. Indirect empirical support for a hypothesised causal link between course experience and approaches to learning was found. Research limitations/implications - Weak relations between the predictor variables (course experience/approaches to learning) and academic achievement limited the possibility of identifying mediator effects, and future research should address this issue. Practical implications - Lecturers and course designers should take into account that students' approaches to learning are influenced by course experience, especially with respect to the adoption of a surface approach to learning. Originality/value - This paper included a comparison between course experience, approaches to learning, and academic achievement, whereas most previous research has not included academic achievement. The utilisation of confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling gave a stronger test of construct validity than exploratory analyses, and it facilitated the testing of hypothesised structural models.