The Mediating Role of Metacognitive Processes in the Relationship between Personality Traits and Academic Achievement of University Students

Abstract

Academic achievement, which has a critical role in preparing students for their future careers and being successful in many competitive fields, is undoubtedly one of the most important outcomes of their formal education life. For this reason, researches are conducted on many internal and external factors that contribute to the academic achievement of students. In this study, the mediating role of metacognitive processes in the relationship between university students' personality traits such as responsibility, openness to experience, agreeableness, neuroticism and extraversion and academic achievement was tested. Structural equation modeling was used in the research. The population of the research includes students attending the faculty of education of a state university located in the west of Turkey. The sample consisted of 1207 students determined by stratified sampling method. The Metacognitive Awareness Inventory developed by Schraw and Dennison (1994) and adapted into Turkish by Akın, Abacı and Çetin (2007) to measure students' metacognition in the study and the Adjective-Based Personality Test developed by Bacanlı, İlhan, and Aslan (2007) was used to measure students' personality traits. The personal information form developed by the researcher was used for demographic information and the general academic grade point average was used to determine the academic achievement of the students. As a result of the research, emotional instability and agreeableness dimensions of personality have a negative and significant relationship with metacognition; openness to experience and responsibility factors have a positive and significant relationship with metacognition. On the other hand, it was found that extraversion did not have a significant relationship with metacognition. It was determined that there was a positive and significant relationship between metacognition and academic achievement. The research hypothesis that metacognition plays a mediating role in the relationship between university students' personality traits such as responsibility, openness to experience, agreeableness, neuroticism and academic achievement has been confirmed. Factors other than extraversion of personality traits affect students' metacognition, and metacognition affects academic success. The relationship between personality and academic achievement is established through metacognition.

Keywords

• Personality
• metacognition
• academic achievement

Üniversite Öğrencilerinin Kişilik Özellikleri ile Akademik Başarı Arasındaki İlişkide Üstbilişsel Süreçlerin Aracılık Rolü

Öz

Öğrencilerin gelecekteki kariyerlerine hazırlanmaları, rekabet gerektiren pek çok alanda başarılı olabilmeleri için kritik bir role sahip olan akademik başarı, kuşkusuz örgün öğrenim yaşantılarının da en önemli çıktılarından biridir. Bu nedenle öğrencilerin akademik başarısına katkıda bulunan çok sayıda içsel ve dışsal faktöre ilişkin araştırmalar yapılmaktadır. Bu çalışmada üniversite öğrencilerinin kişilik özelliklerinden sorumluluk, deneyime açıklık, uyumluluk, nevrotiklik ve dışadönüklük boyutlarıyla akademik başarıları arasındaki ilişkide üstbilişsel süreçlerin aracılık rolü test edilmiştir. Yapısal eşitlik modellemeye dayalı olarak yürütülen araştırmanın evreni, Abant İzzet Baysal Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi öğrencileri, örneklemi ise tabakalı örnekleme yöntemi ile belirlenen 1207 öğrenciden oluşmuştur. Araştırmada öğrencilerin üstbilişsel süreçlerini ölçmek için Schraw ve Dennison (1994) tarafından geliştirilen ve Akın, Abacı ve Çetin (2007) tarafından Türkçeye uyarlanan, Bilişötesi Farkındalık Envanteri; kişilik özelliklerini ölçmek için Bacanlı, İlhan ve Aslan (2007) tarafından geliştirilen Sıfatlara Dayalı Kişilik Testi kullanılmıştır. Demografik bilgiler için araştırmacı tarafından geliştirilen Kişisel Bilgi Formu, akademik başarının belirlenmesinde ise genel akademik not ortalaması (GANO) kullanılmıştır. Araştırma sonucunda kişiliğin duygusal dengesizlik ve yumuşak başlılık boyutlarının üstbiliş ile negatif yönlü anlamlı bir ilişkiye sahip olduğu; deneyime açıklık ve sorumluluk faktörlerinin üstbiliş ile pozitif yönlü anlamlı bir ilişkiye sahip olduğu; dışadönüklüğün ise üstbiliş ile anlamlı bir ilişkisinin olmadığı bulunmuştur. Üstbiliş ile akademik başarı arasında ise pozitif yönlü ve anlamlı bir ilişkinin olduğu belirlenmiştir. Üniversite öğrencilerinin kişilik özelliklerinden sorumluluk, deneyime açıklık, uyumluluk, nevrotiklik ile akademik başarıları arasındaki ilişkide üstbilişin aracılık rolü olduğuna yönelik araştırma hipotezi doğrulanmıştır. Kişiliğin dışadönüklük dışındaki faktörleri, öğrencilerin üstbilişlerini etkilemekte, üstbiliş ise akademik başarıyı etkilemektedir. Kişilik ile akademik başarı arasındaki ilişki üstbiliş aracılığı ile kurulmaktadır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Kişilik
• üstbiliş
• akademik başarı

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