Psychological Capital and Academic Performance: A Study on Management Undergraduates of Rajarata University of Sri Lanka

Abstract

Psychological capital has been studied by scholars over the last decade, and there is vast empirical evidence linking it to performance and positive psychological outcomes in many different cultural contexts. However, the existing literature does not provide clear evidence on the usage of this concept in the university setting. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between Psychological capital and academic performance of Management undergraduates of the Rajarata University of Sri Lanka. Psychological capital was considered as the independent variable and the academic performance of the undergraduates was considered as the dependent variable. The sampleof 120 final year management undergraduates was selected randomly using a questionnaire. Mean Score and Standard Deviation were used for all the variables for univariate analysis and correlation coefficient was used for bivariate analysis. The hypotheses were tested using the results of the Correlation analysis. The results of correlation analysis illustrated that the undergraduates’ psychological capital was positively and significantly correlated with the academic performance of the undergraduates. A strong positive and significant relationship was reported between the dimensions of psychological capital (hope, optimism, resilience and self-efficacy) and the academic performance of the undergraduates. The results disclose the importance of psychological capital to improve the academic performance of management undergraduates. Therefore, the policymakers should make necessary arrangement to improve the self-efficacy, hope, optimism and resilience of the undergraduates to improvetheir academic performance.