A path model of factors influencing the academic performance of nursing students

AIMS: The aim of this study was to build and test a model describing some of the psychological processes underlying nursing students' academic performance. The model hypothesized that age and entry qualifications influence students' academic motivation (locus of control, academic worries, self-efficacy, and expectations), and that this in turn affects their decisions to seek support, which subsequently influences their academic performance. RATIONALE AND BACKGROUND: A literature search showed that previous academic motivation research is piecemeal. The present work sought to integrate previous findings into a coherent framework as a way of advancing our understanding of the complex interactive nature of the factors influencing student performance. METHOD: Path analysis was performed on data obtained from questionnaires and university records for 315 students undertaking a preregistration diploma course in nursing at a university in the Northwest of England. RESULTS: Support-seeking was more predictive of student performance than entry qualifications. Support-seeking also mediated the age-performance relationship: greater willingness to seek support led to the better academic performance of older students. Other features of the accepted model suggested that students who judged their self-efficacy to be higher expected higher grades and that these highly optimistic expectations led to less support-seeking. Academic worries and internal control beliefs were also found to have positive influences on support-seeking. The model developed accounted for 24% of the variance in students' academic performance. DISCUSSION: Implications for nurse education, and interventions that focus on improving students' academic motivation are discussed in the context of the 'personal teacher' support framework.