Examining relationships among work ethic, academic motivation and performance

Abstract

In this study, work ethic was examined as a predictor of academic motivation and performance. A total of 440 undergraduate students completed measures of work ethic and academic motivation, and reported their cumulative grade point average. Results indicated that several dimensions of work ethic were related to academic motivation and academic performance. Differences between correlations were examined, and work ethic dimensions were more strongly related to hypothesised dimensions of motivation than other dimensions of motivation. In addition, structural equation modelling was used to examine the mediating effect of academic motivation. These findings provide additional evidence for the importance of work ethic in academic settings, as well as important construct-related validity evidence for work ethic. Implications of these study findings, limitations and future directions are discussed.

Keywords:

• work ethic
• academic performance
• academic motivation

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by a grant from the University of Missouri Research Board.

Notes

1. Because the sample was predominantly female, gender differences were examined. First, a series of t-tests were conducted to see whether respondents differed on any of the variables across gender groups. It was found that females had higher levels of morality/ethics (t(438) = 4.734, p < .001; d = .53), hard work (t(438) = 2.246, p = .025; d = .27), wasted time (t(438) = 2.728, p = .007; d = .32) and extrinsic motivation (t(438) = 2.287, p = .023; d = .27), whereas males reported higher levels of leisure (t(438) = 2.066, p = .039; d = .25). However, there were no significant gender differences for self-reliance, centrality of work, delay of gratification, amotivation, intrinsic motivation or college GPA. As a second method for examining gender differences, gender was entered as a control variable, and each of the bivariate hypotheses was retested. Here, the inclusion of gender did not change the results in any way. Finally, the moderating effect of gender on the hypothesised relationships was examined. For this purpose, a series of hierarchical regression(s) were conducted, following the recommendations of Cohen, Cohen, West and Akin (2003). Results indicated that gender did not moderate any of the hypothesised relationships. Thus, although males and females had different mean levels on some variables, gender appeared to have no meaningful impact on the hypothesised relationships or change any of the results when it was taken into account.