Inside the student mind : an exploration of self-reported executive functioning skills in university students
department or school: Education, Faculty of
department or school: Education, School of (Okanagan)
data provider: DSpace
degree campus: UBCO
creator: Mercuri, Adaleena Johanna
issued: 2024-05-01T17:01:01Z
issued: 2024
related degree: Master of Arts - MA
degree grantor: University of British Columbia
description: The transition to university life can be challenging for students as they adapt to a new learning environment with potentially ineffective academic skills (De Clerq et al., 2018; Donche et al., 2010). Executive functioning skills (EFS), the higher order functions that are essential for complex behaviours and cognitive processes, play a critical role in students’ mental well-being and academic success within university life (Pendry et al., 2021). This quantitative study aims to explore university students’ self-reported EFS, investigating potential differences or correlations with variables such as age, sex assigned at birth, academic year of study, and academic performance. Using the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function—Adult Version (BRIEF-A; Roth et al., 2005) questionnaire, this study assessed individual aspects of EFS in relation to demographic variables. Key findings included high deficits in the Task Monitor scale and Working Memory scale, and significant differences in the Emotional Control scale scores between assigned at birth males and females. Last, there were negative correlations found between deficits for Metacognitive Index (MI) items, including the Working Memory scale, Plan/Organize scale, and the Organization of Materials scale, and students’ final course grade percentage. Age, the Inhibit scale, the Shift scale, the Emotional Control scale, the Self-Monitor scale, the Initiate scale, the Task-Monitor scale, the Behavior Regulation Index (BRI) and the overall Global Executive Composite scale (GEC) did not correlate with any academic performance measures. No scales measured by the BRIEF-A questionnaire resulted in a correlation with overall GPA measures, including the 2021/2022 academic year GPA and the 2022 fall GPA. Future research in measuring EFS in university students could include focusing on metacognitive aspects in relation to academic performance. Should future research corroborate the present studies findings, employing and eval…
aggregated CHO: https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/88134
note: INSIDE THE STUDENT MIND: AN EXPLORATION OF SELF-REPORTED EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING SKILLS IN UNVERSITY STUDENTS by Adaleena Johanna Mercuri B.H.K., The University of British Columbia, 2019 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in THE COLLEGE OF GRADUATE STUDIES (Education) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Okanagan) April 2024 © Adaleena Johanna Mercuri, 2024 ii The following individuals certify that they have read, and recommend to the College of Graduate Studies for acceptance, a thesis entitled: Inside the student mind: An exploration of self-reported executive functioning skills in university students submitted by Adaleena Johanna Mercuri in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Arts. Dr. Peter Arthur, Okanagan School of Education Supervisor Dr. Robert Campbell, Okanagan School of Education Co-Supervisor Dr. Scott Douglas, Okanagan School of Education Supervisory Committee Member Dr. Zoë Soon, Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science Supervisory Committee Member Dr. Sally Stewart, School of Health and Exercise Sciences External Examiner iii Abstract The transition to university life can be challenging for students as they adapt to a new learning environment with potentially ineffective academic skills (De Clerq et al., 2018; Donche et al., 2010). Executive functioning skills (EFS), the higher order functions that are essential for complex behaviours and cognitive processes, play a critical role in students’ mental well-being and academic success within university life (Pendry et al., 2021). This quantitative study aims to explore university students’ self-reported EFS, investigating potential differences or correlations with variables such as age, sex assigned at birth, academic year of study, and academic performance. Using the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function—Adult Version (BRIEF-A; Roth et al., 2005) questionnaire, this study assessed individual aspects of EFS in rel…
has type: Thesis/Dissertation
date issued: 2024-05
is shown at: 10.14288/1.0442083
language: eng
degree discipline: Education
provider: Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
publisher: University of British Columbia
rights: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
rights URI: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
scholar level: Graduate
contributor: Arthur, Peter J.
contributor: Campbell, Robert
type: Text
identifier URI: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/88134