Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) and Students’ Failure in Bachelor of Corporate Administration Programme

Students' failure is one of the most debatable topics in tertiary education in Malaysia. Failure in certain courses might delay students' progress to graduate-on-time (GOT). This will result in increased cost, time and resources to both the university and student. From an academic perspective, a higher rate of failure will give a negative impression that the course is tough for students to pass. This study aims to investigate the factors contributing to students' failure based on the Social Cognitive Theory (SCT). The students of Bachelor of Corporate Administration (BCA) from the Faculty of Administrative Science and Policy Studies, UiTM were selected to participate in an online survey. SCT has identified three main factors that influence students' failure namely, behavioural, environmental and personal factors. Findings of the study showed that for behavioural factors: students' attendance, total hours spent to study, participation in the classroom, understanding level and students' effort to complete the course are among the reasons that lead to the failure. Additionally, the nature of syllabus, teaching techniques, students learning time and assessment methods are the environmental factors that may lead to failure. Finally, personal factors are represented by individual roles, dispositions and commitment to perform in a particular course. This study concludes that the use of SCT can explain student failures more systematically. The result of the study is able to help the university and lecturer to enhance the teaching and learning approach, revise the assessment method and redesign the programme curriculum. These efforts are deemed pivotal in reducing student failures while maintaining its quality.