Beyond Costs and Benefits: How Commitment Predicts Academic Achievement among Moroccan University Students

Khalid Bourrouk

doi:10.53103/cjess.v6i5.569

Authors

Khalid Bourrouk Mohammed V University of Rabat, Morocco

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.53103/cjess.v6i5.569

Keywords:

Organizational Commitment, Affective Commitment, Continuance Commitment, Normative Commitment, Academic Achievement, Higher Education

Abstract

The concept of commitment has been extensively studied in workplace settings and consistently linked to positive employee outcomes; however, its relevance to higher education remains largely underexplored. The present study, therefore, examines the role of commitment in predicting academic achievement among Moroccan university students. Building on Allen and Meyer’s (1990) three-component model of organizational commitment, the study adapts the affective, continuance, and normative commitment dimensions to the higher education context to examine their relationship with students’ academic achievement. Using non-probability sampling, 281 third-year undergraduate and first- and second-year master's students enrolled at Mohammed V University completed a 22-item questionnaire consisting of demographic questions and items measured on a five-point Likert scale. Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation and regression analyses. Findings reveal that affective and normative commitment significantly predict academic achievement, whereas continuance commitment, though positively associated with the outcome variable, does not make a significant unique contribution when the three commitment dimensions are considered simultaneously. These results suggest that students' emotional attachment to their institution and their sense of moral obligation to persist in their studies are stronger predictors of academic achievement than commitment based on the perceived costs of leaving the university. Implications, study limitations, and recommendations for future research are discussed.

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