Approaches to learning as predictors of academic achievement: Results from a large scale, multi-level analysis

The relationships between university students’ academic achievement and their approaches to learning and studying continuously attract scholarly attention. We report the results of an analysis in which multilevel linear modelling was used to analyse data from 3,626 Danish university students. Controlling for the effects of age, gender, and progression, we found that the students’ end-of-semester grade point averages were related negatively to a surface approach and positively to organised effort. Interestingly, the effect of the surface approach on academic achievement varied across programmes. While there has been considerable interest in the ways in which academic programmes shape learning and teaching, the effects of these contexts on the relationship between approaches to learning and academic outcomes is under-researched. The results are discussed in relation to findings from recent meta-analyses in the field.