Pillars of Academic Interest Among Undergraduate Students: Passion, Confidence, Aspiration, and Self-Expression

• In Event: 58.082 - Roundtable Session 25
  In Roundtable Session: 58.082-3 - Promoting Academic Achievement by Navigating Psychosocial Factors

Abstract

We investigated psychological dimensions of academic interest among undergraduate students (N = 325). An academic interest scale was developed in this study and administered along with several measures of potential correlates (academic performance, educational aspiration, career planning, goal setting, life satisfaction, attitudes towards leisure, personality, and value). Results revealed four dimensions of academic interest: passion for learning, confidence in the future, career aspiration, and self-expression. All four dimensions were significantly related to career planning, goal setting, and life satisfaction, but we also found specific pairings between different academic interest dimensions and the personality and value variables, suggesting that students with different personalities and different sets of values are likely to appreciate and respond to different aspects of academic interest.

Authors

• Jihyun Lee, National Institute of Education - Nanyang Technological University

• Tracy Lyn Durksen, University of New South Wales