Teacher Acceptance Rejection, Academic Locus of Control, Academic Adjustment and Dropout Intentions in College Students

Abstract

Each individual has the right to acquire knowledge, and it can be sustained by the guidance of mentors of educational institutes. The current study aimed to determine the mediating role of academic locus of control & academic adjustment between teacher acceptance-rejection and dropout intentions in college students. A total of 250 first-year (Higher Secondary School) students (150=boys, 150=girls) were selected through a purposive sampling age range of 16-20 years from rural and urban public sectors colleges. Teacher acceptance-rejection questionnaire (Child TARQ/Control) (Rohner, 2005), dropout intention Scale (Camman, Fichman, Jenkins & Klesh,1979), academic college adjustment scale (CAT; Pennebaker et al., 1990), and rotter external & internal locus of control scale (Rotter, 1966) were used for assessment. Structural equation modeling (SEM) revealed that an increase in teacher rejection leads to decreased academic adjustment, which, in turn, increases dropout intentions. However, an increase in teacher rejection leads to an increased academic locus of control, which increases dropout intentions. The findings facilitate planning the capacity-building program and counseling sessions for teachers to improve their behavior and attitude towards students. So, students can be better adjusted to the academic demands and consider the failures as their own shortcoming, hence decreasing the college dropouts.