Predicting Students’ Academic Performance: The Joint Effect of Satisfaction and Motivation in Two Public Colleges in Southwest USA.

Abstract

This study examines the mediating roles of goal motive, an SDT perspective, and satisfaction with college life on academic performance. A survey of two public higher education institutions in Southern USA showed that both samples reported autonomous learning climate and moderate satisfaction with college life. The regression analysis using the PROCESS Macros in SPSS revealed that the strongest predictors of academic performance were the learning climate and satisfaction with college life, but satisfaction mediates the effect of learning climate. Thus, satisfaction seems to be more important than motivation in the two contexts. The outcome provides critical insights that may inform SDT research in higher education and student’s performance management.