Adult Learning Open University Determinants (ALOUD) study: Psychological factors associated with study success

As our current knowledge society is changing very rapidly, aging of knowledge and skills is going faster. To keep up with these developments, it is important being able to learn on a higher age. Factors playing a significant role in being a successful learner can have biological and psychological origins. In present research, the focus will be on psychological determinants. The association between psychological factors (e.g. e.g. test anxiety, stress, learning strategies) and academic performance is well established for children, adolescents, and college students in traditional education. However, evidence of associations between these factors and study success for adult students in distance education is lacking. In this study, we investigate the association between several psychological factors and study success for adult students in distance education. Approximately 2000 students of the Open University will participate in this large cross-sectional study, by filling out an online questionnaire an three online neuropsychological tests. Data collection will take place September 2012 till September 2013. The results of this study may provide insight into factors associated with study success in adult students. Based on these results effective learning strategies are developed in order to optimize the current curriculum.