Academic Achievement Motivation and High School Dropout: An Integrative Model

High school dropout is a pressing issue in the United States as 7.1% of all 16 to 24 year olds in the United States are high school dropouts (U.S. Department of Commerce, 2012). To create effective dropout prevention programs, we must understand the factors that contribute to this national crisis. Two factors that play a role in educational outcomes are achievement motivation and performance. The purpose of this study was to test a model, based on SCCT and EVT, which predicts high school dropout from self-efficacy, performance, and subjective task value. The model was tested through the statistical analysis of a large-scale national data set, ELS, with a sample size of 15,753. The findings indicated that performance, compared to self-efficacy and subjective task value, most strongly predicted later high school dropout. Document Type Thesis Distinguished Thesis Yes Degree Name Bachelor of Arts (BA) Department or Program Psychology First Advisor Verena Bonitz Second Advisor Kathryn Dohrmann Third Advisor Desmond Odugu Fourth Advisor Naomi Wentworth Subject Categories Education | Psychology This thesis is available at Lake Forest College Publications: http://publications.lakeforest. edu/seniortheses/2 Lake Forest College Archives Your thesis will be deposited in the Lake Forest College Archives and the College’s online digital repository, Lake Forest College Publications. This agreement grants Lake Forest College the non-exclusive right to distribute your thesis to researchers and over the Internet and make it part of the Lake Forest College Publications site. You warrant: • that you have the full power and authority to make this agreement; • that you retain literary property rights (the copyright) to your work. Current U.S. law stipulates that you will retain these rights for your lifetime plus 70 years, at which point your thesis will enter common domain; • that for as long you as you retain literary property rights, no one may sell your thesis without your permission; • that the College will catalog, preserve, and provide access to your thesis; • that the thesis does not infringe any copyright, nor violate any proprietary rights, nor contain any libelous matter, nor invade the privacy of any person or third party; • If you request that your thesis be placed under embargo, approval from your thesis chairperson is required. By signing below, you indicate that you have read, understand, and agree to the statements above. Printed Name: Alyssa Parr ’13 Thesis Title: Academic Achievement Motivation and High School Dropout: An Integrative Model This thesis is available at Lake Forest College Publications: http://publications.lakeforest. edu/seniortheses/2 LAKE FOREST COLLEGE Senior Thesis Academic Achievement Motivation and High School Dropout: An Integrative Model by Alyssa Parr April 29, 2013 The report of the investigation undertaken as a Senior Thesis, to carry two courses of credit in the Department of Psychology ______________________________ __________________________ Michael T. Orr Verena Bonitz, Chairperson Krebs Provost and Dean of the Faculty __________________________ Kathryn Dohrmann __________________________ Desmond Odugu __________________________ Naomi Wentworth