Traits of Success: Understanding Strengths and How They Relate to Academic Performance at the Collegiate Level
Document Type
Event
Department
Leadership and Organizational Studies
Abstract
Research surrounding academic success in collegiate environments fails to identify and explain what traits influence performance the most. While research on this in K-12 education is robust, very little of this research applies to learning in a collegiate environment. Collegiate level learning hosts many complex challenges for students such as living alone for the first time, managing a higher workload outside of the classroom, and new financial burdens. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between traits and their contribution towards success or failure in a collegiate environment. Through using archived CliftonStrengths assessment data and demographic data from the University of Southern Maine (USM), this study examined 5,023 undergraduate participants spread across 74 different academic programs. Findings of this study show positive correlations with traits associated with increased performance, Learner, Intellection, and Discipline; and traits associated with diminished performance, Adaptability, Futuristic, and Includer. This study was guided by the following research questions: (1) How does strength distribution change based on the number of credit hours completed? (2) How does strength distribution vary across different programs and subject matters?
Traits of Success: Understanding Strengths and How They Relate to Academic Performance at the Collegiate Level
Research surrounding academic success in collegiate environments fails to identify and explain what traits influence performance the most. While research on this in K-12 education is robust, very little of this research applies to learning in a collegiate environment. Collegiate level learning hosts many complex challenges for students such as living alone for the first time, managing a higher workload outside of the classroom, and new financial burdens. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between traits and their contribution towards success or failure in a collegiate environment. Through using archived CliftonStrengths assessment data and demographic data from the University of Southern Maine (USM), this study examined 5,023 undergraduate participants spread across 74 different academic programs. Findings of this study show positive correlations with traits associated with increased performance, Learner, Intellection, and Discipline; and traits associated with diminished performance, Adaptability, Futuristic, and Includer. This study was guided by the following research questions: (1) How does strength distribution change based on the number of credit hours completed? (2) How does strength distribution vary across different programs and subject matters?
