Beyond teaching practice: Exploring individual determinants of student performance on a research skills module

The purpose of this study was to identify the extent to which intrinsic student factors such as cognitive learning style, learning strategies, motivation and statistics anxiety, as well as certain demographic factors, predict performance on a research design and analysis course (RDAIIA) in the Department of Psychology at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa, with a view to developing future interventions for improving student performance. Using a sample of eighty students, it was established that the factors most predictive of RDA performance were secondary school performance (p < 0.0001) and age (p = 0.0106). Excluding demographic factors, self-efficacy (p < 0.0001), help-seeking (p = 0.0531) and a reflective learning style (p = 0.0071) were also found to be predictive. Performance also differed between students who had completed Mathematics on the higher grade in secondary school and those who had completed standard grade (p = 0.016). These findings present both possible directions and substantial challenges for future performance-intervention strategies.