Date of Award

3-28-2007

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Teaching & Learning

First Advisor

Richard G. Landry

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the attitudes of first-year students (N = 1,919) entering higher education for the first time after graduating from secondary education. This study categorized attitudes within three primary domains: academic motivation, coping indicators, and the receptivity to student support services. The data were collected from the College Student Inventory instrument that had been administered during freshmen orientation seminars conducted at a research intensive university located in a medium-sized midwestern city. Factor analyses reduced the 100 item survey to 17 independent factors within the three domains. Multiple regression analyses determined the academic motivation domain factor, motivation to finish college was the most significant factor on all the predictor factors within the coping indicators domain, and the academic motivation domain factor, math and science confidence was the most significant factor on all the predictor factors within the receptivity to student support services domain. Multivariate analyses of variance determined 12 significant differences on the 17 factors by gender and 13 significant differences by self-reported grade point average. Females scored higher on four factors within the academic motivation domain: motivation to finish college, good study habits, interest in books, and commitment to finish college, two factors within the coping indicators domain: family social support and lack of financial support and, one factor within the repetitively to student support services domain: academic assistance and males scored higher than females on three factors within the academic motivation domain negative attitudes toward teachers, verbal confidence, and math and science confidence, one factor within the coping indicators domain: intolerance of others, and one factor within the repetitively to student support services domain: counseling for personal issues. Comparison of means for levels of grade point average across all the factors indicated that the means changed by performance positively for motivation to finish college, good study habits, verbal confidence, math and science confidence, and commitment to finish college and negatively for the factor negative attitudes toward teachers in the academic motivation domain. The means positively changed the factor family social support and negatively for the factor positive sociability in the coping indicators domain. The factors financial counseling, career counseling, and positive sociability were positively changed while academic assistance and career counseling were negatively changed in the receptivity to student support services domain. This study indicated that attitudes of first-year students entering higher education for the first time can affect their academic success in higher education. This study also identified significant differences in attitudes between females and males and the students' self-reported grade point averages.

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