DISPOSITIONAL ASSOCIATES OF GCE PERFORMANCE IN SIXTH FORM AND FURTHER EDUCATION COLLEGE STUDENTS

Summary. A great deal of research effort has sought to identify factors associated with successful academic performance. The more consistent findings suggest generally that intellectual ability and previous examination performance are the strongest determinants of attainment, whilst within the dispositional domain of personality, extraversion and emotional stability claim some importance, albeit that findings in the latter area have been surprisingly inconclusive. This paper reports the findings of a study which examined the dispositional associates of GCE O-/A-level performance, employing a sample of 356 two-year, full-time GCE A-level students who entered further education and sixth form colleges immediately after completing their fifth form work in schools. A method of cluster analysis was used to identify student types based on selected dispositional characteristics. Within-cluster regression analysis was then employed in order to determine the relative weight attached to the student dispositional characteristics in explaining their GCE O-and A-level performance. The potential of the clusters is confirmed by the high predictive power associated with the multiple regression model employed and, in particular, the considerable explanatory power associated with the students' measured dispositional characteristics.