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Postponement in the completion of the final dissertation: an underexplored dimension of achievement in higher education

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Abstract

Research on academic achievement at a university has mainly focused on success and persistence among first year students. Very few studies have looked at delay or failure in the completion of a final dissertation. However, this phenomenon could affect a substantial proportion of students and has considerable costs. The purpose of the present study is to identify factors which predict postponement in the completion of the final dissertation. Several potential predictors (e.g., background, personality, social support, motivational beliefs, and engagement) were selected through an integrative review of the literature on achievement in higher education. A questionnaire assessing these variables was administered to 341 students a few months before the deadline for their final dissertation. Results indicate that perceived peer support, perceived relatives support, role conflict, and age have an independent and significant effect on whether or not the final dissertation is completed on time. In addition, self-efficacy and behavioral engagement appeared to be mediators of the relationship between the social support and the final dissertation completion.

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Notes

  1. To assess the significance of the indirect effects, the coefficients have to be transformed because the dichotomous outcome variable has a different scale. To do so, we used a screenshot proposed by Nathaniel R. Herr on his website: http://nrherr.bol.ucla.edu/Mediation/logmed.html

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Catholic University of Louvain, Place du Cardinal Mercier 10, 1348, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium

    Serge Dupont, Gaëlle Meert & Benoît Galand

  2. Facultés Universitaires Saint-Louis, Brussels, Belgium

    Frédéric Nils

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  1. Serge Dupont
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  2. Gaëlle Meert
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  3. Benoît Galand
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  4. Frédéric Nils
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Correspondence to Serge Dupont.

Additional information

Dupont Serge. Department of Psychology Catholic University of Louvain Place du Cardinal Mercier 10 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve Belgium. Email: s.dupont@uclouvain.be

Current themes of research:

Motivation and engagement in Higher education.

Most relevant publications in the field of Psychology of Education:

Dupont, S., Meert, G., Galand, B., Nils, F. (2011). Comment expliquer le dépôt différé du mémoire de fin d’étude ? Cahiers du Girsef, N. 85.

Gaëlle Meert. Department of Psychology Catholic University of Louvain Place du Cardinal Mercier 10 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve Belgium. Email: gaelle.meert@uclouvain.be

Current themes of research:

Motivation and engagement in Higher education. Theory of mind. Numerical cognition.

Most relevant publications in the field of Psychology of Education:

Meert, G., Grégoire, J., & Noël, M. P. (2010a). Comparing the magnitude of two fractions with common components: which representations are used by 10- and 12-year-old children? JECP, 107, 244 - 259

Benoît Galand. Department of Psychology Catholic University of Louvain Place du Cardinal Mercier 10 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve Belgium. Email: benoit.galand@uclouvain.be

Current themes of research:

Achievement and engagement in higher education and in school.

Most relevant publications in the field of Psychology of Education:

Galand, B., Philippot, P. & Frenay, M. (2006). Structures de buts, relations enseignants-élèves et adaptation scolaire des élèves : Une analyse multiniveaux. Revue française de pédagogie, 155, 57-72.

Galand, B., Philippot, P. & Lecocq, C. (2007). School violence and teacher professional disengagement. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 77, 465-477.

Larouche, M.-N., Galand, B. & Bouffard, T. (2008). The illusion of scholastic incompetence and peer acceptance in primary school children. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 23, 25-39.

Galand, B., Dernoncourt, O. & Mirzabekiantz, G. (2009). Caractéristiques relationnelles et émotionnelles des auteurs et des victimes de violences à l’école. Revue suisse des sciences de l’éducation, 31, 33-56.

Galand, B., Raucent, B., & Frenay, M. (2010). Engineering students’ self-regulation, study strategies, and motivational beliefs in traditional and problem-based curricula. International Journal of Engineering Education, Special issue on Methodology for the study of PBL in Engineering Education, 26(3), 523-534.

Frédéric Nils. Facultés universitaires Saint-Louis (Brussels, Belgium). Email: nils@fusl.ac.be

Current themes of research:

Achievement predictors in higher education. Vocational guidance and counseling.

Most relevant publications in the field of Psychology of Education:

Nils, F. (2011). Comment favoriser une bonne orientation lors du choix des études universitaires? In Ph. Parmentier (Dir.) Recherches et actions en faveur de la réussite en première année universitaire. Bruxelles: CIUF.

Nils, F., & Lambert, J.-P. (2011). Quelle est l’ampleur de l’échec en première année à l’université? Tout est-il joué d’avance? In Ph. Parmentier (Dir.) Recherches et actions en faveur de la réussite en première année universitaire. Bruxelles: CIUF.

Bourgeois, E., de Viron, F., Nils, F., Traversa, J., & Vertongen, G. (2009). Pertinence du modèle d’expectancy-value en contexte de formation universitaire pour adultes. Savoirs, n° 20.

Roskam, I., Zech, E., Nils, F., & Nader, N. (2008). School Reorientation of Children with Disabilities: A Stressful Life Event Challenging Parental Cognitive and Behavioral Adjustment. Journal of Counselling and Development, 86, 132-142.

Roskam, I., & Nils, F. (2007). Predicting intraindividual scholastic achievement trajectories of adolescents nested in family and class environment. Psychologica Belgica, 47, 119-143.

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Dupont, S., Meert, G., Galand, B. et al. Postponement in the completion of the final dissertation: an underexplored dimension of achievement in higher education. Eur J Psychol Educ 28, 619–639 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10212-012-0132-7

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