Impact of Social Groups on Academic Agency in Undergraduate Students

Abstract

This research paper utilizes principles of symbolic interactionism and social psychology to explore elements of academic agency and group membership in undergraduate students. By employing a survey and analyzing data points, our research reinforces that group membership is correlated with academic agency. Academic agency was measured by taking scores of individual self-efficacy, forethought, self-reflectiveness, and performance. We found a variety of differences in these measures when we divided our sample into definable groups based on group membership orientation. Most notably, large differences appeared between group membership orientations and self-reported scores for self-efficacy. We conclude that group membership has an influence on academic agency, and that self-efficacy appears to be the most distinguishing factor between differing groups.