03/2015 – 03/2018
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
Prof. Dr. Joachim Wirth, Dr. Julia Waldeyer und Dr. Jens Fleischer
Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Detlev Leutner (Universität Duisburg-Essen)
The project investigated the question of what role resource management strategies play in successful study. The project examined the extent to which learning problems in the introductory phase of studies can be traced back to deficits in the use of resource management strategies and the extent to which the availability and use of these strategies mediate the connection between personality traits and academic success.
Academic learning differs significantly from learning in schools in that it places significantly higher demands on self-regulation and the strategic orientation of learning processes. While cognitive and metacognitive strategies have been adequately studied as predictors of school and college learning success, more recently, resource-based strategies have taken on an increasingly prominent role in research predicting academic success. To be sure, meta-analyses on the prediction of academic success show that cognitive learning prerequisites are still the best predictors of academic achievement and retention in the field of study. Nevertheless, substantial correlations of so-called non-cognitive variables such as the use of resource management strategies or personality factors with academic success can also be shown. The project therefore focused on both resource management strategies and personality factors.
A total of three studies were conducted to answer the research questions. Study 1 used focus discussion groups to identify differences in the demands on self-regulated learning between school and university as well as coping strategies that students know and use to manage these demands. As a result, a total of 60 learning situations with particular challenges to the management of internal as well as external resources could be identified which were used in a second step for the creation of a Situational-Judgement Instrument (Resource Management Inventory: ReMI). In Study 2, the ReMI was piloted and validated on a sample of N = 198 first-year students in civil engineering and education. In Study 3, the instrument was further validated and examined with respect to its factorial structure, measurement invariance, and prognostic validity for predicting academic success. A first, already reduced version of this instrument showed a very good reliability of α = .87. Analyses of convergent and discriminant validity additionally point to a satisfactory construct validity. Thus, convergent constructs such as the resource management subscale of the LIST (r = .30, p < .01) or the time management (r = .28, p < .01) and procrastination (r = -.41, p < .01) scales correlated significantly with the new instrument. In contrast, discriminant variables such as the cognitive subscale elaboration of the LIST correlated to zero (r = .06, p > .05). Furthermore, the five-factorial structure of the instrument (help-seeking, learning environment design, time management, effort, and motivation) was confirmed in both studies. When looking at students' competencies in resource management, it was found that the largest portion of first-year students had an availability deficit (44%) in resource management, meaning that they did not (know) the strategies that were considered appropriate. A small proportion of students fell into the production and utilization deficit categories (17%) and a moderately large proportion of students reported no deficit in resource management (39%). It is notable in this context that students majoring in civil engineering (M = .09; SD = .35) scored significantly lower overall than students majoring in education (M = 1.06; SD = .37; t(198) = 2.90; p < .05; d = .45). Regarding the question about the importance of resource management for academic success, resource management was found to significantly predict exam success, even beyond cognitive ability and high school graduation grade.
Waldeyer, J., Dicke, T., Fleischer, J., Guo, J., Trentepohl, S., Wirth, J., & Leutner, D. (2022). A moderated mediation analysis of conscientiousness, time management strategies, effort regulation strategies, and university students' performance. Learning and Individual Differences, 100, 102228. DOI
Waldeyer, J., Fleischer, J., Wirth, J., & Leutner, D. (2020). Validating the resource-management inventory (ReMI): Testing measurement invariance and predicting academic achievement in a sample of first-year university students. European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 36, 777–786. DOI
Waldeyer, J., Fleischer, J., Wirth, J., & Leutner, D. (2019). Entwicklung und erste Validierung eines Situational-Judgement-Instruments zur Erfassung von Kompetenzen im Bereich des Ressourcenmanagements (ReMI). Diagnostica, 65, 108–118. DOI
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Last update: Jul 13, 2023
