'Right to success' belief can cause students to struggle

Students who have an exaggerated belief they have ''a right to success'' are more likely to struggle, come exam time, a University of Otago study shows.

The study, which examined the entitlement beliefs of almost 300 students sitting a marketing and consumption paper, found that those with ''excessive entitlement'' were less likely to put in the effort required to do well.

The authors quoted academics who believed ''excessive entitlement'' was on the rise among tertiary students, but no other studies had examined how it affected performance.

The results showed that students with a greater perception of personal entitlement performed worse than their peers in the final exam, but only when they found the paper more difficult than expected.

The study comes amid a focus on cheating. Two Otago University students have admitted ghost-writing assignments and an alleged commercial cheating service is under investigation.

Study author Prof Jamin Halberstadt said it was not too much of a stretch to say that students with high levels of entitlement could also be more likely to cheat.

''I don't have any evidence for that, but you could imagine how cheating could be rationalised from an entitlement perspective,'' Prof Halberstadt saidPeople who felt they were entitled to a pass could view cheating as a ''practical means'' of getting what they believed they deserved, rather than being something that was immoral.

The suggestion that ''excessive entitlement'' was on the rise was based on anecdotal evidence and there was no data on the issue.

However, he believed rising student fees and the ''commodification'' of tertiary education meant more students felt they were entitled to pass, having paid for their studies.

Lead author Dr Donna Anderson said it was ''interesting, but not surprising, that the negative effect of excessive entitlement on performance was most evident in the context of a challenge''.

Other factors that predicted exam performance were personal responsibility and internal motivation. The study provided practical advice for improving learning outcomes, Dr Anderson said. It was funded by Otago University and had been published in the International Journal of Higher Education.