Graduate Thesis Or Dissertation
 

A descriptive study of the locus of control in selected medical office assisting students and its relationship to certain characteristics an academic success as measured by grade achievement

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  • The central purpose of this research was to investigate the relationship of locus of control and academic success in selected medical office assisting students. The instrument for locus of control assessment was the Adult Nowicki-Strickland Internal-External Scale (ANSIES). Structured interviews were used to elicit personal responses for the purpose of confirming the locus of control direction that was indicated by the instrument. The research questions addressed the relationship of locus of control to the degree of internality or externality associated with the grade point average (GPA) for the Fall term. The findings concluded that there was a relationship of locus of control to academic success as measured by GPA in two of the four subsets of the study population. The students in the study population that received the highest GPA had the most internal locus of control. The students in the study population that received the least academic success with a GPA below 2.00 had an external locus of control. The subset with a GPA range of 2.00-2.99 demonstrated a more internal locus of control. However, the subset with a GPA range of 3.00-3.99 scored the most external direction of all groups. The findings from the structured interviews illustrated the phenomenon of shifting locus of control in response to a single question. The analysis from the structured interviews indicated more internality than was indicated on the ANSIES. The findings indicated that there was a relationship to internal locus of control and highest academic success (4.00 GPA) as measured by grade achievement. A more external locus of control was demonstrated in those individuals with the lowest academic success. The findings for the two middle subsets did not illustrate a relationship between internality and academic success or externally associated with a lower level of academic achievement. The principal implication of this research for education with regard to this study population is that locus of control is not a reliable predictor of academic success. The principal research recommendation entails further inquiry into selfefficacy, the phenomena of shifting internality, the measurement of this study population, characteristics of medical office assisting students, and locus of control as a predictors of academic success.
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