A study of the Relationship between Academic Achievement and Student's Locus of Control

Different factors influence Academic achievement but one of the most effective factors in this regards is personality features. This study aimed to determine the relationship between academic achievement and locus of control (internal-external) in university students.
This cross-sectional descriptive study has been done on 330 students of nursing and midwifery and paramedical students that were selected through non –probability sampling at 2 faculties of Shahid beheshti nursing and midwifery and Langroud paramedical school respectively in Guilan university of medical sciences in 2014. Data were collected by Julian Rotter Locus of Control Scale questionnaire .Data were analyzed by using descriptive and inferential statistical procedures, chi-square, ANOVA, Pearson, totaled Tukey and T- test through SPSS.
Findings show that (20.9%) of students were male with Mean score of 15.87±1.69 and (71.9%) were female with Mean score of 16.8±0.97 also among them (%55) of students with external locus of control and (%45) with internal control participated .There was no significant relationship between Mean score and locus of control (R=0.351) , (P>0.05) but students with external locus of control had Mean score higher than others. There was a significant relationship between gender, mother's education and satisfaction of family breeding environment with Mean score (P=0.0001), (P=0.027), (P=0.002).
Most students had academic achievement but female students with external locus of control, educated mothers and satisfaction with family breeding had more academic achievement than others.