Psychosocial predictors of academic achievement of adolescents : the roles of career and educational aspirations as mediating variables

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine variables that were predictive of academic achievement of early adolescents. It also aimed to investigate the particular ways in which the interrelationships between the variables, which were psychological variables, career-related variables, career aspiration and educational aspiration, predict adolescents’ achievement in examination. The research questions of this study were explored using a seven-scale test battery, comprising of the Junior Eysenck Personality Inventory (JEPI), the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory (CSEI), the Abu Bakar Achievement Motivation Test (ABAMT), the Career Maturity Index - Attitude Scale (CMI-AS), the Career Self-Efficacy Scale (CSES) and the Self-Directed Search (SDS). Career aspiration and educational aspiration were assessed by self-developed items. Academic achievements of the adolescents were measured by three examinations, which were the mid-year, the trial of PMR and the PMR respectively. Data collected from a sample size of 355 was analysed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) and the Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). The SEM was particularly employed to conduct the Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) of the Career Self-Efficacy Scale, which was specially developed for this study, and to examine the relationships between all variables in the structural model. Four conclusions were drawn from this study: (a) a significant positive relationship was found between career aspiration and academic achievement; (b) a significant positive relationship was found between career aspiration and educational aspiration; (c) a significant positive relationship was found between career-related variables and career aspiration: (d) a significant relationship was found between career-related variables and academic achievement when mediated by career aspiration. This study then underscored the need for the emphasis of ongoing career intervention for adolescent students. More research is needed to extend the breadth of findings regarding the relationships between the psychosocial variables and academic achievement of early adolescents.