Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Date

2020

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Department

Education

Committee Chair

Stephen Zanskas

Committee Member

Daniel Lustig

Committee Member

Richard James

Committee Member

Jade Xu

Abstract

This study examines how academic coaching influenced at-risk college students academic performance. Academic coaching places one student with a trained academic coach, who attempts to outline an academic plan with the student. The student contracts with the academic coach and they meet biweekly to assess progress and to discuss experiences and issues. Such an intervention was performed in the fall 2016 semester at a southern, urban, public university (Center for Academic Retention and Enrichment Services [CARES], 2017). One way to examine academic coaching as an intervention and to determine efficacy is to measure students sense of grit, academic self-efficacy, academic commitment, and time management before and after an academic coaching intervention. This researcher used archival data provided by the Office of Institutional Research (2018) and from the academic coaching program at the study university in the form of a questionnaire provided to students both before the coaching intervention and again at the end of the intervention. This researcher proposed that the scores would show an increase in these areas and the set of variables might serve to predict GPA. This researcher used t-tests and multiple linear regression to analyze the data. Significant differences were found between pre-test and post-test scores of academic self-efficacy and those of academic commitment. Both variables exhibited a significant decline in the mean scores following the academic coaching intervention. There was also a significant difference between the pre-test and post-test scores of the GPA measurements of the intervention term (Fall 2016), exhibiting an increase in GPA. Additionally, there was a significant difference between the pre-test and post-test scores of the academic year GPA (Fall 2016 to Spring 2017) exhibiting an increase in GPA. The regression model using the change scores between Fall 2016 intervention term GPA as the initial dependent variable, and difference scores of grit, academic self-efficacy, academic commitment, and time management as independent variables, was not significant. The second regression model using the change scores of Spring 2017 GPA and Fall 2016 GPA as the dependent variable with difference scores of grit, self-efficacy, academic commitment, and time management as independent variables, was not significant.

Comments

Data is provided by the student.

Library Comment

Dissertation or thesis originally submitted to ProQuest

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