Antecedents to academic success in higher education institutions: The case of UAE University

Abstract

This research develops a model to investigate the influence of different determinants on student’s Academic Performance (AP) in UAE University (UAEU). The model consists of Big Five personality traits (BigF) and other learning-orientation strategies. The importance of this research to the UAE’s context stems from the fact that determinants of AP vary from one country to another and hence, UAE students may possess different personal traits and learning strategies. From 179 legible responses, the proposed model showed its success in detecting AP of UAEU students with the BigF attributes being the main contributors to explaining AP. The research showcases interesting insights and implications pertaining to UAEU-student’s learning strategies, traits and habits. The implications point to different theoretical and professional contributions and contentions and hence, suggesting different recommendations.

Keywords

Academic performance, Big five, Higher education, Learning orientations, UAE