U SING P SYCHOMETRIC P ROFILES TO P REDICT S TUDENT A CADEMIC AND A CHIEVEMENT AND I MPROVE P EDAGOGY, C URRICULUM D ESIGN AND D EVELOPMENT Presented by Stoney Kudel at the Faculty of Business meeting, Thursday April 24, 2008

Personality factors Character traits Self-efficacy Self-management 2

Personality FactorsAssociated Character Traits extroversiongregarious, assertive and sociable agreeablenessco-operative, warm, generous and agreeable conscientiousnesshard-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) 3

S ELF -E FFICACY 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 4

S ELF -M ANAGEMENT C HARACTERISTICS 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 5

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 effortconscientiousness, 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 persistenceconscientiousness, 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 conflictcomfort 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 6

H YPOTHESES 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. 7

F INDINGS T O D ATE 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 8

F INDING T O D ATE 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. 9