Date of Award

Summer 2025

Language

English

Embargo Period

8-4-2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

College/School/Department

Department of Educational and Counseling Psychology

Program

Educational Psychology

First Advisor

Robert Bangert-Drowns

Subject Categories

Educational Psychology | International and Comparative Education

Abstract

Abstract

This dissertation examines if pre-existing personal characteristics influence the effectiveness of a reflective goal-setting intervention on credits completed among first-year university students. Grounded in goal-setting theory and self-regulated learning frameworks, the study investigates the roles of self-efficacy, intrinsic motivation, metacognitive strategies, and autonomy in shaping students’ academic outcomes. Using hierarchical cluster analysis, four distinct learner profiles were identified based on these personal characteristics. A two-way repeated measures ANOVA was conducted to evaluate whether the intervention significantly affected students’ academic performance—measured in credits completed —over three time points (T0, T1, T2) across intervention and control groups.

The results revealed a statistically significant interaction between time and intervention condition, indicating a small but measurable effect of the reflective goal-setting intervention on semester-based academic performance. While descriptive trends suggested differences among learner profiles—such as relatively greater in credits completed among students in the “Confident Learners” cluster—these patterns were not statistically significant and should be interpreted with caution. The intervention did not result in measurable changes in metacognitive strategy use, and students in the “At-Risk Learners” cluster showed limited credits completed, suggesting the need for more comprehensive support strategies.

This study contributes to the literature by integrating person-centered clustering with longitudinal analysis to explore individual variability in response to reflective interventions. By using a conservative complete-case analysis approach, the findings offer a cautious but transparent perspective on the limited impact of short-term goal-setting interventions. The findings underscore the need for sustained multi-component approaches that combine goal setting with metacognitive skill development and personalized scaffolding. Implications are discussed for educators, academic advisors, and policy leaders seeking to support diverse learners in higher education

License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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