USING PSYCHOMETRIC PROFILES TO PREDICT STUDENT ACADEMIC AND ACHIEVEMENT AND IMPROVEPEDAGOGY, CURRICULUM DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT

Presented by Stoney Kudel at the Faculty of Business meeting, Thursday April 24, 2008

Personality factors

Character traits

Self-efficacy

Self-management2

Personality Factors Associated Character Traitsextroversion gregarious, assertive and sociableagreeableness co-operative, warm, generous and

agreeable

conscientiousness hard-working, organized, goal-oriented, decisive and dependable

emotional stability (neuroticism)

calm, self-confident, and cool (high emotional stability)anxious, hostile depressed (neuroticism or low emotional stability)

openness to experience

creative, curious and perceptive

(Adapted from Sniderman, Bulmash, Nelson and Quick, 2007 and McShane, 2006)

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SELF-EFFICACY

Levels of confidence (self-beliefs) individuals have in their ability to complete certain courses of action or achieve specific outcomes or goals

Influences: Choice of behaviours Effort and persistence Thought patterns and emotions Self-confidence generally results in successful

outcomes

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SELF-MANAGEMENT CHARACTERISTICS

Determine academic goals, objectives, and expectations

Identify appropriate behaviours or activities to achieve academic goals and objectives

Make and keep commitments to achieve those academic behaviours or activities

Self-evaluate their performance of the behaviours and activities that will lead to the achievement of academic goals and objectives

Seek support and/or resources for self-improvement and academic development

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Self-Efficacy Components

Academic/Business Success Characteristics

Psychometric Profile Character Trait Measures

confidence (self-belief) in ability to complete tasks and achieve goals

conscientiousness, intellectual efficiency (self-confidence/need for achievement), achievement-striving, self-discipline, set goals, be accountable, communicate clearly

self-management, motivational profile, self-confidence, self-directedness, environmental fit, independence, achievement

effort conscientiousness, show interest, initiative and effort, work independently or in a team, manage time and resources, problem-solving

analytical orientation, environmental fit, motivational profile, enterprising, achievement, team orientation, enterprising, people orientation, listening style

persistence conscientiousness, show interest, initiative and effort, work independently or in a team

analytical orientation, motivational profile, achievement, people orientation, independence

resilience to adversity

emotional stability, manage conflict comfort with conflict, lifestyle management, self-confidence, acquiescence, relaxed

positive/negative mindset

extraversion, agreeableness, openness to experience

social orientation, approach to networking/self-promotion, commitment to career, acquiescence, relaxed

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HYPOTHESES

Students who strongly manifest self-management characteristics will demonstrate a higher level of academic success.

Specific self-management characteristics are more strongly correlated to student academic success than others.

Students who manifest strong self-management character traits are more likely to demonstrate a higher level of competency in all areas identified as essential employability skills, and are more likely to be motivated to learn and to use those skills more quickly and more appropriately.

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FINDINGS TO DATE

Self-efficacy affects goal-setting, which influences self-evaluation, self-satisfaction, commitment and effort, which in turn affect outcome expectations, goal implementation and academic performance.

Early identification of students who are at risk for poor academic performance could be facilitated by the use of assessment instruments that focus on relatively stable aspects (i.e. personality) of the student

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FINDING TO DATE Understanding a student’s character traits

we may determine which students are more likely to have higher levels of self-efficacy than those who do not.

Personality also has an impact on how students learn, and understanding this is very important as academic success may be increased if personality and success characteristics are taken into account.

The quality of a student’s learning experience, especially in the first year, is an important indicator of students’ academic adjustment and of their chances of persevering in college.

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