AN EXPLORATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP OF EXPLANATORY STYLE TO ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT, COLLEGE STUDENT PERSISTENCE, ACT/SAT COMPOSITE SCORES, AND COLLEGE STUDENT INVENTORY MEASURES by Leann Alicia Fox A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Agricultural Education MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY Bozeman, Montana April 2006 © COPYRIGHT by Leann Alicia Fox 2006 All Rights Reserved ii APPROVAL of a thesis submitted by Leann Alicia Fox This thesis has been read by each member of the thesis committee and has been found to be satisfactory regarding content, English usage, format, citations, bibliographic style, and consistency, and is ready for submission to the Division of Graduate Education. Dr. Martin J. Frick, Committee Chair Approved for the Division of Agricultural Education and Agricultural Operations Technology Dr. Robert Gough Approved for the Division of Graduate Education Dr. Joseph J. Fedock iii STATEMENT OF PERMISSION TO USE In presenting this thesis in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a master’s degree at Montana State University, I agree that the Library shall make it available to borrowers under rules of the Library. If I have indicated my intention to copyright this thesis by including a copyright notice page, copying is allowable only for scholarly purposes, consistent with “fair use” as prescribed in the U.S. Copyright Law. Requests for permission for extended quotation from or reproduction of this thesis in whole or in parts may be granted only by the copyright holder. Leann Alicia Fox April 2006 iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The author wishes to thank my committee members for their guidance and thoughtful, constructive comments. Thank you also to those students, faculty, staff, and administration who provided input and practical suggestions. A special thanks goes to my parents, Phil and Laurie, for their love, positive example, and continual encouragement towards making a difference. And to Jon, for your love, constant support, and technical expertise and engineer’s approach, thank you for being life-giving. v TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................... 1 Statement of Purpose ..................................................................................................... 3 Objectives....................................................................................................................... 3 Need for the Study ......................................................................................................... 4 Assumptions................................................................................................................. 14 Limitations ................................................................................................................... 14 Definition of Terms...................................................................................................... 15 2. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ............................................................................. 20 Introduction.................................................................................................................. 20 Retention/Persistence/Attrition .................................................................................... 22 History and Major Theories.................................................................................. 22 Background Characteristics .................................................................................. 26 Demographic Traits. ................................................................................. 26 Admissions Criteria. ................................................................................. 28 Grades and Academic Performance...................................................................... 30 Psychological and Attitudinal Factors—Personal Characteristics........................ 32 First-Year Students ............................................................................................... 36 Early Intervention ................................................................................................. 37 College Student Inventory ........................................................................................... 37 Attributional Theory .................................................................................................... 41 Explanatory Style......................................................................................................... 43 Description............................................................................................................ 43 Explanatory Style and Achievement..................................................................... 45 Explanatory Style and Academics ........................................................................ 47 Academic Attributional Style Questionnaire........................................................ 52 Attributional Retraining ............................................................................................... 54 Summary ...................................................................................................................... 58 3. METHODS OF INVESTIGATION ............................................................................ 60 Population and Cohort Description.............................................................................. 60 Instrument Design........................................................................................................ 61 Data Collection Methods ............................................................................................. 63 Data Analysis Procedures ............................................................................................ 65 4. RESULTS OF THE STUDY....................................................................................... 67 Introduction.................................................................................................................. 67 vi TABLE OF CONTENTS - CONTINUED College of Agriculture Freshman Student Description................................................ 67 Background Characteristics .................................................................................. 68 Admissions Criteria .............................................................................................. 74 College Student Inventory—Expected College Experience................................. 75 College Student Inventory .................................................................................... 77 Explanatory Style......................................................................................................... 81 Relationships................................................................................................................ 86 Predicting Attrition ...................................................................................................... 92 Potential of the Academic Attributional Style Questionnaire...................................... 97 5. CONCLUSIONS, IMPLICATIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS....................... 99 Introduction.................................................................................................................. 99 Conclusions................................................................................................................ 100 Implications................................................................................................................ 105 Recommendations...................................................................................................... 108 Recommendations for Further Study ......................................................................... 111 REFERENCE LIST ........................................................................................................ 117 APPENDICES ................................................................................................................ 127 APPENDIX A: Academic Attributional Style Questionnaire ........................... 128 APPENDIX B: Demographic Cover Sheet........................................................ 136 APPENDIX C: Results Form............................................................................. 138 APPENDIX D: College Student Inventory – Form B ....................................... 141 APPENDIX E: Description of College Student Inventory Measures................ 154 APPENDIX F: CSI Coordinator Report Sample............................................... 169 APPENDIX G: CSI Student Report Sample ..................................................... 171 vii LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Definition of Explanatory Style for Bad Academic Events...................................... 17 2. Component Measures of the College Student Inventory.......................................... 39 3. Comparison of Background Characteristics for........................................................ 61 4. Data Collection Summary and Cohort Establishment .............................................. 64 5. Ethnic Origin of the 2004 Cohort ............................................................................. 69 6. Comparison of Cohort Involvement in Student Organizations ................................ 73 7. High School Grade Point Averages for the Cohort Group ....................................... 75 8. Mean ACT and SAT Composite Scores for the Cohort