Acceso usuarios
Jannessa L. Kitchin, Nancy J. Karlin
The academic achievement gap in the USA persists, despite significant effort made to close it. This has led many researchers to investigate individual and social characteristics that reliably predict academic success in the face of adversity. Structural equation modeling was used to investigate six models with the aim of clarifying the interrelationships between dispositional, social, and school-based social protective factors and academic achievement with 535 college undergraduate students (mean age = 22.45). Determination, self-esteem, self-concept, and connection to school were found to have a positive relationship to academic achievement. Inconsistent with a large body of past research, several negative relationships were found in models involving self-esteem and self-concept between protective factors. Significant, cross-system, relationships were evident for protective factors. Results of this study provide support for the use of the social ecological model of resilience in academic achievement research so that interventions can be developed to help all students succeed.
