An Examination of Factors Influencing Differences in Academic Performance among Active Duty Military Students and Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps Scholarship Students in a University Setting

Abstract

Naval Science Departments at universities across the country have two groups of students: Active duty and non-active duty students. These two types of students seem to have parity with regard to requisite academic ability, however often there is a large disparity among actual academic performance. This study investigated possible relationships between academic achievement, motivation, mental maturity, age, marital status, and military status. The following research questions were investigated: (1) What is the direct affect of autonomous motivation as measured by the Self-Regulated Learning Questionnaire (SRQ-L) on academic achievement?; (2) What is the direct affect of mental maturity as measured by the Basic Achievement Skills Inventory (BASI) survey on academic achievement?; (3) What is the indirect effect of age on academic achievement?; (4) What is the indirect effect of military status on academic achievement?; and (5) What is the indirect effect of marital status on academic achievement? These research questions were investigated using a path analysis design. Ninety-six undergraduate students in the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC) department were administered the SRQ-L, BASI survey, and a demographic survey. Results from the adjusted path analysis model indicate that military program and BASI scores explains 27% of grade point average. The CFI, NFI, and RMSEA values were 0.982, 0.952, and 0.075 respectively, indicating a good match of the model and the observed data.