Goal-efficacy framework: an examination of domestic and international accounting students' academic performance

• Published in: Accounting and finance (Parkville) Vol. 54; no. 4; pp. 1295 - 1318
• Main Authors: Phang, Michelle M. S., Johl, Shireenjit K., Cooper, Barry J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Clayton Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01-12-2014
• Subjects: Academic achievement; Academic performance; Accounting students; Comparative analysis; Foreign students; Goal efficacy; International students; Organizational behavior; Self-regulated learning; Studies
• ISSN: 0810-5391; 1467-629X
• DOI: 10.1111/acfi.12024

This study considers the psychological influences on academic performance using a goal‐efficacy framework. Data were gathered using a survey questionnaire (N = 375). The paper is motivated by a repeated high failure rate for a second‐year core accounting unit and anecdotal evidence that international students perform poorly in comparison with domestic students. The results demonstrate the role of self‐regulated learning strategy as a mediating variable for goal orientation and academic performance. While the analyses suggest no significant differences between domestic and international students with respect to the main psychological variables and academic performance, further analyses reveal that four specific factors of the main psychological variables are significantly different between domestic and international students.