Predictor variables of academic achievement for psychology students in distance education

Introduction. The discussion around academic achievement in the context of distance education has raised the need to develop studies that allow identifying the variables that best predict it. The objective of this research was to analyze the fit of a structural equations model that assumes that sociodemographic variables, personality traits, motivation and learning styles are predictors of academic achievement. Method. 354 distance psychology students from a private university in Bogota D.C., who were recruited from a stratified probability sampling, voluntarily participated. It was a non-experimental explanatory study applying the technique of structural equations. Results. Findings indicate that characteristics such as being male, older, with a theoretical and / or reflective style favor GPA, as well as open-mindedness and tenacity, while the identified motivation and amotivation negatively affect students GPA. Discussion and Conclusions. The proposed model agrees with the studies in face-to-face mode by showing that both sociodemographic and non-cognitive variables are relevant to explain academic achievement in distance learning model.