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Selected Non-Intellectual Factors As Predictors Of Academic Success In Junior College Intellectually Capable Students

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Selected Non-Intellectual Factors As Predictors Of Academic Success In Junior College Intellectually Capable Students

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Content This dissertation has been
microfilmed exactly as received 6 6 -7 0 7 4
K EARNEY, D orothy L u c ille , 1921—
SELEC TED N O N -IN TELLEC TU A L FACTORS
AS PREDICTORS O F ACADEMIC SUCCESS
IN JUNIOR COLLEGE INTELLECTUALLY
C A PA BLE STUDENTS.
U n iv e r sity of Southern C aliforn ia, E d .D ., 1966
E ducation, p sych ology
University Microfilms, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan
— —
Copyright by-
Dorothy Lucille Kearney
SELECTED NON-INTELLECTUAL FACTORS AS PREDICTORS
OF ACADEMIC SUCCESS IN JUNIOR COLLEGE
INTELLECTUALLY CAPABLE STUDENTS
by
Dorothy Lucille Kearney
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
in Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION
January 1966
This dissertation, written under the direction
of the Chairman of the candidate’s Guidance
Committee and approved by all members of the
Committee, has been presented to and accepted
by the Faculty of the School of Education in
partial fulfillment of the requirements for the
degree of Doctor of Education.
D a te...
Guidance Committee
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF TABLES ............... ......................
Chapter
I. THE PROBLEM .................................
Background of the Problem
Statement of the Problem
Importance of the Problem
Scope of the Study
Definition of Terms Used
Organization of the Remainder of the
Dissertation
II. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ....................
Studies Related to the Junior College
Student
Studies Related to Non-Intellectual
Factors and Achievement
Research Related to College Academic
Success
Summary
III. METHDD AND SOURCES OF DATA..................
Setting of the Study and Description
of the Sample Groups
Sources of Data
Statistical Procedure
Summary
IV. FINDINGS FROM THE PREDICTIVE INSTRUMENTS . .
Achievement Levels
Non-Intellectual Predictors of Achievement
Findings for the "Same" Group
Findings for the "Lower" Group
Findings for the "Higher" Group
Findings for the Total Group
Summary
Chapter Page
V.. FINDINGS FROM THE QUESTIONNAIRE ...... 74
Age, Sex, and Marital Status
Educational and Occupational Goals
Socioeconomic Background
Need for Financial Support and Employment
Motivational Factors Related to College
Attendanc e
Summary
VI. FINDINGS FROM THE INTERVIEW.......... 92
Summary
VII. SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, IMPLICATIONS, AND
RECOMMENDATIONS.......................... 98
Summary
Findings
Conclusions
Implications of the Study
Recommendations
BIBLIOGRAPHY .......................................... 109
i i i
LIST OF TABLES
Table Page
1. District of Residence, Day Students,
Attending Citrus Junior College District,
Fall Semester, 1964-65 36
2. Means and Variances for the 1963 and 1964
Freshmen............... 49
3. Grade Distribution * ......................... 54
4. Percentage Representation of Freshmen
Classified in Sub-Groups................. 55
5. Correlations Between High School Grade Point
Average and First Semester Junior College
Grade Point Average......................... 56
6. Intercorrelation Matrix . . . . . . . . . . . 59
7. Correlations Between Predictors and JCGPA
for the Same G r o u p ........... 61
Q. Multiple Correlations Between Predictors
and JCGPA in the Same Group................ 61
9. Correlations Between Predictors and JCGPA
for the Lower Group......................... 63
10. Multiple Correlation Between Predictors
and JCGPA in the Lower Group ....... 63
11. Correlation Between Predictors and JCGPA
for the Higher G r o u p ....................... 65
12. Multiple Correlation Between Predictors
and JCGPA in the Higher Group............. 65
13. Correlations Between Predictors and JCGPA
for the Total Group ......... 67
iv
Table Page
14. Multiple Correlations Between Predictors
and JCGPA for the Total Group.............. 67
15. Correlations Between Predictors and JCGPA
for the Total Males........... 68
16. Multiple Correlations Between Predictors
and JCGPA for the Total Males ....... 6B
17. Correlations Between Predictors and JCGPA
for the Total Females ................ 71
1B. Multiple Correlations Between Predictors
and JCGPA for the Total Females ......... 71
19. Responses on the Questionnaire Reported in
Percentages for Each Groupf Males and
Females, and for the Total G r o u p ......... 80
20. Responses to the Questionnaire for the
Total Group............................. 87
21. Responses to the Questionnaire by Sub-Group
Percentages............................... 89
22. Responses to Questionnaire, Item 2 3 ......... 90
23. Comparative Grade Correlations for Each
Grouping.................................... 95
v
CHAPTER I
THE PROBLEM
Background of ths Problem
The study of higher education has consistently
maintained an historical perspective (9; 38). The social,
economic, political, and cultural conditions uihich in
fluenced the rise of a diversity of institutional types
has been rather thoroughly assessed (79; 9). The focus
throughout has been on certain major concerns such as
institutional organization, administrative systems, pre
vailing curricular philosophies, stated purposes and
functions, academic freedom, and methods of financial
support. More recent research in American higher edu
cation has been directed to a study of the college stu
dent (85; 21). The premise for such study is that stu
dents influence institutional character and in varying
degrees provide the determinants of institutional purpose
and function (73; 69).
During the last decade, political and economic
developments have created conditions prompting widespread
contemporary interest in the public junior college as an
institutional type (50; 79; 37; 12). The growth of the
public junior college has been coincident with the tre
mendous expansion of the number of American youth seeking
college opportunities (9). Rapidly increasing college
enrollments, reflective of economic and technological
demands for educated citizens and workers, have caused
educational leaders to look with renewed interest to the
junior college as the promising solution to the problem
of extending equal and adequate collegiate opportunities
to all qualified students (37ix). In 1963, the Educa
tional Policies Commission recommended that all American
youth be provided with at least two years of education
beyond high school (22)• Projected estimates of enroll
ment in higher education for the United States by 1975
suggest 8.6 million students. It seems likely, there
fore, that the next few years will see a rapid increase
in the number of junior, or community, colleges and an
attendant increase in their student populations (79).
As an institutional type the junior college has
beBn thoroughly documented (50j 79; 37; 62; 12). It is
generally well-known that the public junior college, or
community college, is a two-year institution, financially
supported by a local community, offering a wide variety
of educational programs to students with great diversity
of background. Considerable attention has been focused
on the diverse functions of junior college programs, the
extent and variety of organizational patterns, and the
methods used to achieve declared purposes and functions.
The non-selective admission policy, operating in
most junior colleges and mandated in California junior
colleges is one factor that distinguishes this type of
institution from other colleges (10). A liberal admis
sions policy attracts heterogeneous student bodies.
Students differing in interests, academic aptitude, and
achievement seek and receive admission to "open door"
colleges. Data descriptive of the junior college student
affirm that there is no stereotyped student body in the
two-year college. The same diversity found among college
students in general is found among junior college stu
dents? however, there is some evidence that these students
do not necessarily have the same characteristics as their
counterparts in four-year colleges (51*30).
Medsker has urged that each junior college con
duct continuous studies of its students. The very fact
that junior college students represent a wide range in
variables of aptitude, age, socioeconomic background,
marital status, sex, educational plans, employment, and
college persistence prompted Medsker to recommend!
. . . in attempting to look carefully at students
in junior colleges it is necessary to .recognize
diversity and heterogeneity, to use central ten
dencies sparingly, and to consider the range and
distribution of individual characteristics. Fur
thermore, it is necessary to recognize differences
among individual junior colleges--even those of
the same type. (51*30)
4
Thornton has suggested that many more studies of
student characteristics are needed to complete the quali
tative description of the clientele of the community
junior colleges (79*159). From the literature, more
research on student characteristics considering motiva
tional, attitudinal, and personality variables is neces
sary? much more information is needed on the relationship
of these subjective characteristics to the performance
of students of varying abilities (51*29, 50).
It mas to relate selected characteristics to the
academic performance of junior college students of high
aptitude that this study mas designed. The purpose of
such investigation is to contribute more specifically to
the growing knowledge about junior college students.
Statement of the Problem
The purpose of this study of the intellectually
capable junior college freshman was to determine what re
lationship exists between scholastic achievement and
selected non-intellectual factors. The study was di
rected specifically to ascertaining whether prediction
of academic achievement can be improved if non-intellec
tual factors are included in the predictive process. A
further purpose of the study was to find whether selected
non-intellectual factors contribute significantly to
differential achievement among intellectually capable
5
junior college students.
Two groups of intellectually capable students
were studied, one composed of freshmen entering in the
fall semester, 1963, and the other of students entering
in the fall, 1964. If prediction of academic achievement
can be improved by including non-intellectual factors
in the process and if selected non-intellectual factors
contribute significantly to differential achievement
among able learners, conclusions leading to modified
counseling and curricular practices may be warranted.
Answers were sought to the following questions*
1. Do high ability junior college students,
selected by academic aptitude measures, show
evidence of varying levels of academic achieve
ment, assessed by grade point average?
2. Do high ability freshmen in junior college
continue patterns of academic achievement com
mensurate with high school achievement?
3. Do standardized self-report measures of
study habits and attitudes, intensity of voca
tional interests, and personality characteristics
relate significantly to patterns of achievement
of able junior college students, assessed by
grade point average?
4. Does the inclusion of non-intellBctual vari
ables in the predictive process improve the
prediction of academic achievement for able
junior college students?
5. Do personal data gathered from a brief ques
tionnaire and interview help to explain the
variability in academic achievement patterns
among high ability junior college students?
Importance of the Problem
Many considerations contribute to the importance
of a study of this nature. Recent economic and techno
logical developments have caused educational leaders and
laymen to think with renewed vigor about the education of
capable students in our society* Identification, guid
ance, and motivation of students whose ability places
them in the upper quartile of the population are concerns
of critical importance* The unnecessary misuse of recog
nized ability in students and the lack of encouraging
efforts to have able students attain varying kinds of
excellence can become tragedies for both the individual
and society.
Medsker has stated that little research is con
ducted which enables the two-year colleges to obtain
facts about their students (5Qt164). The need for such
information is especially important to junior colleges
if they are to assist in the national effort to identify
intellectually superior students and promote educational
programs challenging to their talents.
There is relevancy also to the study of one seg
ment of the diversity that has characterized junior col
lege student bodies. Leland Medsker has commenteds
. . . If the current trend toward greater selectivity
by the four-year colleges continues, an increasing
number of high school graduates will subsequently
be advised to enroll in a two-year college for their
freshman and sophomore years. These situations
suggest that the two-year college will continue to
enroll students of varying abilities and interests
and that the number of students who today enter a
four-year college may tomorrow attend a junior col
lege. In fact, the future may well bring to the
junior college an increasing number of graduates
who are bona fide transfer students. (50*314)
Implicit in the reference to bona fide transfer students
is the inference that among such students are the more
capable learners.
That academic achievement is not solely the re
sult of intellectual potential is a generally-accepted
assumption. College prediction studies indicate the
trend for more emphasis on non-intellectual predictors.
Instead of studying the entire ability range within
student bodies, the literature suggests that more homo
geneous groups of students need to be studied to obtain
meaningful and differentiating data related to achieve
ment and personological variables. Specifically, then,
if the junior colleges can expect to have a larger por
tion of their students in the upper range of ability, a
study of such high-ability students has intrinsic value
for the junior college in understanding achievement pat
terns of this groups of students. The utility of such j
information has implication in planning curricular and
student personnel services for these students.
f
Scope of the Study
The study was limited to full-time day students
at Citrus College, a tuition-free public junior college
located in Azusa, California. All students in the
samples were freshmen students entering in the fall
semesters of 1963 and 1964 and selected by ths criterion ■
of upper puartile scores on standard measures of academic !
aptitude.
Definition of Terms Used
1. Achievement.--This term was used to indicate
scholastic or academic achievement expressed in terms of
grade point average.
2. CPI.--This term was used throughout the study
as the abbreviation for the California Psychological In
ventory, an instrument used to report selected personality
variables.
3. Junior. Colleoe.— This term was used synony
mously with the terms "community college," "open-door
college," and "tuio-year college."
4. Intellectually capable.— This term was applied
to students scoring in the upper quartile on a standard
9
college examination purporting to measure the capacity
of the student for achievement at his next highest edu
cational level. The term was interchanged with terms
such as "capable learner," "high aptitude students,"
"high ability students," and "able student."
5. Non-intellectual .— This term was used to de
note personality and motivational factors as measured
by interest, personality, and study habits inventories
and reflected in biographical information. "Non-cogni-
tive" and "non-intellective" were also used with simila
definition.
6. Past achievement.--This term was used inter
changeably with "high school grade point average."
7. Present achievement.--This term was used to
denote junior college grade point average.
Organization of the Remainder
of the Dissertation
This chapter has introduced the study by dis
cussing the nature of the problem, establishing the im
portance of the study, listing questions to be answered
and defining the terms used.
Chapter II reviews the pertinent literature on
junior college students and achievement, especially
relevant to the use of non-intellectual factors in the
prediction of college achievement.
Chapter III details the instruments and methods
10
and procedures used in the research. In the fourth,
fifth, and sixth chapters the findings are reported,
organized in relation to the questions presented in
Chapter I. Conclusions draum from the findings, impli
cations of the study, and suggestions for further re
search appear in Chapter VII.
CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
This chapter reviews the literature since 1950
as it is appropriate to various aspects of this study,
particularly observations of the characteristics of
junior college students, research related to non-intel
lectual factors and achievement, and studies relating to
prediction of college achievement.
Studies Related to thB Junior Coileoe Student
Relatively little information dealing exclusively
uuith characteristics of junior college students is avail
able and that uihich is available is a compilation of data
gathered from large random samplings or from studies
based on individual institutions. The usual description
of the junior college student population relies on
averages and indices of central tendency to explain the
greater diversity on almost every dimension which
characterizes the junior college student.
Comparative studies on the academic aptitude
level of junior college students show that the median
score for this group is somewhat lower than that of other
11
12
college freshmen. Medsker has commented that despite
the lower average there is a wide range of abilities
among two-year college students, and many are .superior
in ability to students in four-year institutions (50*30).
He further suggests that although the junior colleges
probably enroll about six per cent of very able students
there is another thirty per cent who score above the
mean of students entering four-year colleges (50*38).
The work of Harold Seashore on academic abilities of
junior college students substantially supports the find
ing that roughly twenty-five per cent of such students
are academically capable and equal or superior to their
counterparts in other institutions (70*75-76). Thornton
reports similar findings on aptitude distribution (79*
148-151). In light of such evidence, Thornton recommends
that if the junior college is to serve its function in
higher education, it must recognize this ability differ
ential and provide strong lower-division curriculums to
prepare qualified students for advanced study (79*151).
Attempts to analyze the socioeconomic back
grounds of junior college students usually conclude that
socioeconomic levels vary with the type of junior col
lege and its geographic location (50*40). Clark has
hypothesized that a growing system of locally and re
gionally oriented colleges will result in further socio
economic differentiation among the students choosing to
13
attend junior colleges and other collegiate institutions
(12*61). Most studies report that junior colleges at
tract students representative of all socioeconomic
groups but not in the same proportion as do other col
leges. General conclusions are that junior colleges draw
heavily from the lower half of the socioeconomic dis
tribution (50*41). Nogls found in a study of 400 junior
college students in a suburban Los Angeles community
that the employment levels of the fathers were concen
trated in the upper occupational levels (59*73). In a
study cited by Thornton, a less urban college reported
that fifty-six per cent of the parents were employed in
unskilled, semi-skilled, and skilled occupations (79*
155). The position of Havighurst that a higher propor
tion of students from the upper middle class than from
the lower class attend college is probably also true for
junior colleges (36*33-35).
Information about age range, ratio of men to
women, marital status, educational plans, number of stu
dents employed is again peculiar to each junior college.
Clark (12), Hillway (37), Thornton (79), and Medsker (50)
report that junior college men outnumber women in a ratio
of about two to one, approximately eighty per cent are in
the college age group of sixteen to twenty-two, with
about six per cent over thirty-five. As many as twenty-
three per cent are married students and over half of thB
14
males and twenty-five per cent of the females are em
ployed part-time. While it may be important to have such
tabulative data on such matters as range of abilities,
distribution of age and sex, and the socioeconomic level
of the homes represented, it may be more significant to
knouu something about attitudes, intellectual disposi
tions, peer group influences, occupational orientations,
and personality patterns (51).
Studies Related to Non-Intellectual
factors and Achievement
Differences in performance and achievement levels
of college students appear to be related to a number of
variables generally termed non-intellectual factors.
Terman's classical 1940 follow-up of men from his origi
nal study of the intellectually talented presaged abun
dant research in the area of achievement assessment.
Terman and his associates from case histories of success
ful and less successful men found that the productivity
of his samples differed greatly. Personality factors
werB particularly important as determiners of achieve
ment. Contrasts between the two groups occurred in the
educational and occupational areas* the success group
completed more years of education and attained higher
occupational levels. Other factors identified as dif
ferentiating were (1) encouraging attitudes toward
higher education in the home; (2) superior educational
15
and occupational levels of the parents; (3) greater mar
riage stability; and (4) "qualitative" aspects of the
home. Greater drive to success, more perseverance
toward goals, more self-confidence, and greater all
around social and emotional adjustment appeared to be
the main reasons for differences in adult achievement
(78). Using Terman's data, Sorokin found socioeconomic
status to be more predictive of success than I.Q.
scores (74).
Current studies for the most part have been re
lated to attempts to identify non-intellectual variables
in achievement or underachievement of superior students.
Approaches to the problem have been varied and the re
sults inconsistent*
Pierce compared high and low achieving boys on
(1) personality characteristics as measured by the Cali
fornia Psychological Inventory (CPI), (2) achievement
motivation, (3) school related interests, (4) behavior
as related to responsibility, and (5) the mother's con
trolling attitude. Pierce found that high academic
achievers scored higher in each of the enumerated
characteristics* they showed more favorable personality
traits, especially responsibility and tolerance, some
what higher motivation, greater involvement in achieve
ment tasks, and more school-related interests (60).
Miriam Goldberg, et al. reported in her study
16
of under- and overachievers that significant differences
in self-concepts exist betuueen the two groups (28). i
Generally, the underachiever was cynical, rebellious of
adult authority, and saw parental domination as condu
cive to poor morale.
The self-concept of bright academic underachiev
ers was investigated by Shaw and Alves (72). Their
findings indicate that male underachievers reported more
negative self-concepts than achievers and were less self- j
\
accepting. Female underachievers differed from achiev- j
I
ers not on self-accepting scales but rather on scales j
involving perception of others of themselves. ThB ;
authors conclude, however, that negative self-attitudes
and academic achievement are directly associated.
Roth and Meyersburg have developed the construct
that poor achievement as measured by grade point average
does not arise from an incapacity to achieve and that
poor achievement is an expression of the student's choice,
an outgrowth of previous and continued choices for poor
achievement. The non-achievement syndrome consists of
general self-depreciation, lack of a clear system of per
sonal goals or values, vulnerability to disparagement by
others, immature relations with parents, lack of insight
about self and others, and free-floating anxiety (65*538-
539). From the sociological viewpoint, the role of
scholar in our society has had relatively low status;
the self-denigrating student thus becomes susceptible to
the cultural approval given the unscholarly and derives
important gratification from the acceptance accorded by
non-achieving peers. Achievement difficulties are cor
rected through changes in the psycho-dynamic organiza
tion of the student, inducing changes in character pat
terns.
Motivation as a crucial determinant of academic
success uias studied by Uhlinger and Stephens who found
that high achievers showed greater needs for social ac
ceptance and recognition than did the low achievers (80).
Achievement motivation was subjected to factor
analysis by Mitchell to ascertain whether achievement
motivation was a unitary construct with invariable
meaning or a complex of relatively independent dimen
sions. Mitchell identified six factorsi (1) academic
motivation and efficiency, (2) wish-fulfillment motiva
tion, (3) non-academic achievement motivation, (4) self-
satisfaction, (5) external pressure to achieve, and (6)
imputed generalized motivation without attendant effort
(56*187). The conclusion was that the factor of academic
motivation and efficiency is the only factor highly pre
dictive of actual academic performance; however, there
are several varieties of academic motivation. Mitchell
also found self-reporting procedures excelled projective
methods in predicting academic performance.
10
Powell and Jouard tested the hypothesis that
underachievers are immature, insecure, and do not relate
as well as achievers (61). They found that under
achievers and achievers attained and maintained their
security in different ways and that relationships with
others have different meanings for students. Under
achieving students, they observed, do not seem to have
freed themselves from parental control and they are
still dependent on parents for security. Achievers,
however, seem to have emancipated themselves from depen
dent parental relationships, were able to form meaning
ful relationships with peers, and found mature security
in such friendships.
Harrison Gough attempted to survey personality
factors for trends and clusters indicative of successful
students. Hs found the following to be characteristic!
(1) optimistic self-confidence, self-control, capacity
for sustained and diligent application; (2) acceptance
of conventions, rejection of the frivolous and diver
sionary, orderliness, planfulnBss, and basic seriousness
of purpose (31i326). From his research Gough developed
an 10 scale inventory, known as the California Psycho
logical Inventory (CPI) which purports to measure per
sonality factors important for social living and social
interaction. In this context, achievement is related to
the socialization process and the utilization of talent
19
is a natural spontaneous operant behavior on the part of
the socialized and self-articulated individual (30*4),
Because of its design for use in educational settings,
the CPI has bsen used by a number of researchers.
Predictive validities of the CPI were tested by
Holland in conjunction with aptitude scores of Merit
Scholars (39). Holland found that five scales of the
CPI--social presence, socialization, responsibility,
achievement via conformance, and femininity--have useful
predictive validity both alone and in combination with
-the aptitude measure. He reports that social presence
(Sp) and socialization (So) scales appear most efficient
since they are significantly related to grades. He
agreed with Gough that achievement and underachiBvement
among gifted persons is a specific facet of the general
problem of socialization.
Probably more important than the question of the
relative efficiency of these tests is the finding
that at a high level of scholastic aptitude, per
sonality variables may yield validity coefficients
which are two to almost three times as great as
those obtained using aptitude measures alone.
(39*141)
Crites, Bechtoldt, et al. subjected Gough's
groupings of CPI scales to factor analysis (16). Six
scales emerge to provide economical and comprehensive
Coverage of the major aspects of personality* (1) domi
nance (Do), (2) good impression (Gi), (3) intellectual
efficiency (IE), (4) flexibility (Fx), (5) femininity
(Fe), and (6) communality (Cm). The authors agree with
Gough that these six scales of the CPI have considerable
promise for the measurement of personality variables re- !
lated to achievement.
Fink tested the adequacy of self-concept as re
lated to level of academic achievement by using the CPI '
(24). He found marked differences in items which char
acterize high and low achieving boys and girls. Achieve
ment discriminators were in the Achievement via conform
ance (Ac) and Socialization (Sb) scales.
Slock performed T-tests using the CPI, comparing
high and low achievers and found that sense of well-
i
being (Wb), responsibility (Re), socialization (So), !
achievement via conformance (Ac), communality (Cm), and
intellectual efficiency (IE) discriminated between the
two groups (4).
Attempting to predict academic achievement with
the CPI, Rosenberg, et al. have observed that the CPI
scales are measuring personality attributes which are
related to academic success and that the best predictor
is a combination of a measure of intellectual ability
and a measure of personality functioning, the Achievement
via Independence (Ai) scale of the CPI (64). The authors
further conclude that their data indicate that the CPI
is a much more useful instrument for differentiating poor
and good students than the HflMPI and can be used effectively
21
in an educational setting.
The fact that studies of non-intellectual factors j
and achievement have not yielded clearly consistent re
sults may be due in part to the variety of measuring
instruments used, the different populations which have
been tested, and to special emphasis on particular per
sonality traits. Recurrent references have been directed
to assessment of anxiety levels, self-concepts, reaction
to authority, interpersonal relationships, independence-
dependence conflicts, academic-versus social interests,
and realistic goal orientations. From his review of the
i
literature, Taylor concluded*
1. The degree to which a student is able to
handle his anxiety is directly related to his level
of achievement.
2. The value the student places upon his own
worth affects his academic achievement.
3. The ability to conform to and/or accept
authority demands will determine the amount of aca
demic success.
4. Students who are accepted and have positive
peer relationships are better able to accept them
selves •
5. The less conflict over independence-depend-
ence relationships a student copes with, the more
effort he places on achievement.
6. Activities which are centered around academic
interests are more likely to produce successful
achievement.
7* The more realistic the goal the more chance
there is of successful completion of that goal.
(77*81)
The aforementioned variables influencing achieve
ment represent an individual's reaction to the socializa
tion process. Researchers appear to agree with Haggard
22
that if personality structure is largely a function of
the socialization process, it follows that academic
achievement is also related to personality factors (33*
391). Since the CPI emphasizes these achievement-oriented
dimensions of personality resultant of individual reac
tions to the socialization process, it seems an appro
priate tool to use in further investigations.
Underlying research conducted in the area of non
intellectual factors and achievement is the theoretical
approach that aptitude measures will tell us what an in
dividual could do, achievement measures tell us what he
does, his personality characteristics help explain what
he will do, and vocational interests indicate what he
wants to do.
ThB Strong Vocational Interest Blank (SVIB) has
a long history of extensive use and high validity in
measuring occupational interests. When aptitude is not
a limiting factor, the assumption Is that an individual
will do well what he wants to do. The corollary follows
that if he has a strong vocational interest he will be
motivated highly to perform in order to achieve his
occupational goal.
In the manual of the SVIB, Strong suggests the
need to consider interest motivation along with other
personological variables*
A closely allied question is the relationship
23
between interests, motivations, and personality
factors. The remarkable stability of scores on
the.Strong Vocational Interest Blank from adoles
cence onward suggests interests must be as basic
and fundamental an aspect of most individuals, as
other behaviors usually considered under discus
sions of personality, (75*22-23)
Investigators have used the SVIB in studying in
terests of occupational groups and the origins and de
velopment of vocational interests. There is little
evidence indicating that a relationship exists between
interest and aptitude (55t356). There is some research
which purports to show a positive relationship between
interest and achievement.
In Terman*s study mentioned earlier, some of his
unsuccessful men failed to earn a high score on any of
the occupational keys (7B) - Morgan in a study of able
male freshmen found that on the SVIB that achievers
scored higher than non-achievers on the interest maturity
scale and tended to show more scale elevations in the
Group V (Social Service) area (58),
Holland and Astin with another study of MBrit
Scholars found the SVIB useful in determining goal orien
tation, and they also found that high interest concentra
tion correlated with personality traits of self-control,
persistence, socialization, and super-ego strength (40).
Crites reports that the SVIB yields results which show
that vocational motives and interests are related (15).
He states, however, that kind, not strength, of vocational
24
motivation is related to interest. In other words, his
subjects tended to show broad interests in one or two
vocational areas, dependent upon personality character
istics. In an earlier study, Crites tested the relation
ship of parental identification to vocational interest
development (14). His general conclusion was that the
male's identification with the father is most influential
in the formation of vocational interest patterns.
Farquhar and Payne report that there is no significant
correlation between occupational motivation and high
school achievement (23).
Gray's studies on occupational needs and values
report findings that lead to the general conclusion that
psychological differences do exist between members of
different occupational groups (32*243). Other writers
such as Super (76), Samler (66), Roe (63), and Centers
(11) support the theory that occupational interests and
satisfactions are functions of the personality structure
of workers. The evidence seems to suggest that the de
termination of an interest-achievement relationship
should include a consideration of related factors in the
personality structure.
Many studies have attempted to relate aptitude
and study habits to college grade point average. A logi
cal approach is to assume that when scholastic aptitude is
constant, variations in academic achievement are attribu
table to study habits. A much-used instrument designed
specifically to measure study habits is the Brown-Holtz-
mann Survey of Study Habits and Attitudes. This inven
tory (SSHA) is a self-rating questionnaire; the student
responds to attitudinal statements about his approach to
studying and about his motivation to do well in academic
work. In the manual, the authors report positive results
from validity studies (8). However, many investigators
who found that the SSHA correlates statistically well
with academic criteria also report that it correlates
well with personality variables. Brown and Dubois found
that only the delay avoidance scale of the SSHA was
effective in the prediction model (7). Their findings,
similar to those of Holland and Astin, suggest that bio
graphical and study habits data were moderately effective
predictors (40). In a later study, Brown states that
study habits and attitudes are positively related to
college grades but their relative influence was less
than that of past achievement and tested abilities
(6*290-291).
The well-documented report by Lum summarizes
her findings *
The results of the study offer support to the
hypothesis that the difference between successful
and less successful students of similar aptitude
is primarily one of attitude and motivation rather
than of reported study habits. Not only were
26
undBrachievers indistinguishable from overachievers
in their reported use of effective study procedures,
but the obtained means indicate that even the better
students do not use so-called "good" study habits
with the consistency that how-to-study manuals would
have them. (46*112;
Achievers, she found, had greater self-confidence
and greater capacity for working under pressure; under
achievers were procrastinators, more critical of educa
tional methodology, and needed external pressure to com
plete academic assignments.
Inventoried study habits and attitudes, like vo
cational interests, need to be understood as reflections
of the total personality structure. Michael, Jones, and
Trembly suggest that students with good study habits are
relatively free from neurotic behavior patterns and pos
sess a capacity for perseverance; students rating them
selves low on study habits scales appear to have an
aversion to work, a tendency to procrastinate and to
rationalize their procrastinations (53*671). It would
appear from the literature that study habits by them
selves may not be adequate forecasters of academic
achievement.
Studies of the stratification in social class
have produced evidence that there are some general social
facotrs related to achievement and underachievement.
Bright children from homes of low socioeconomic status
tend to be less motivated toward academic excellence (35).
27
The National Merit Scholarship Corporation reported that
more than half of the scholars come from homes in the
upper business or professional groups (2). Barbe (3),
Mohandessi and Runkel (57), and Weitz and Wilkinson (82)
support findings that socioeconomic status tends to be
positively related to academic ability and achievement.
Bonsall and Stefflre found that temperamental differences
can be evidenced between gifted and average students (5).
The differences, attributed to socioeconomic level, were
listed as differences in ascendance, emotional stability,
sociability, friendliness, and cooperation--characteris-
tics reflective of social class value orientation.
In a recent study, Astin obtained information
about socioeconomic background, past achievements, and
future plans for college freshmen, part of whom were
Merit Scholars (2). Even though he ascertained that
Scholars do come from higher socioeconomic backgrounds
and do tend to be interested in top professional careers,
he could not explain differences occurring between
Scholars and non-Scholars on the basis of favorable
cultural and economic circumstances. The data cited by
Kahl substantiates the relationship between family status
and occupational and educational aspiration, but he, too,
found that such a relationship does not explain the
variations in achievement among social classes (44).
While studies uniformly find socioeconomic status
28
playing a role in achievement, it is not entirely clear
how social class affects achievement. Apparently, the
degree to which achievers internalize school-related
cultural values determines achievement motivation (43).
Almost all studies of underachievers show that
the sex factor is operantj underachievers are predomi
nantly boys. Dressel (19) and Drews (20) reasoned that
girls more readily accept school values and identify
more closely with teacher expectancies. Differences
occurring between sexes in comparative achievement seem
to be differences in values* economic and power drives
versus humanitarian goals. The latter goals are most
often consistent with the valued objectives of education
(86) .
Significant sex differences have been discovered
on measures of cognitive style, divergent thinking, and
reasoning ability. In these areas, boys appear superior
to girls. Gallagher suggests that further research is
needed on the origins and the development of perceived
sex roles and the effects of sex role identification (27).
It would appear that in this area differential achieve
ment between the sexes is somehow related to culture-im
posed values and discrepant achievement may be due to the
conflict resultant from the individual's concept of the
cultural sex role (49).
Current studies related to attempts to identify
29
nan-intellectual variables in differential achievement
patterns among able students produce a wide variety of
such variables. Factors such as socioeconomic status,
ethnic membership, family patterns, self-concepts, sex
differences, and motivational patterns have been ap
praised. Repeatedly the need has been expressed for
additional and continued research, exploring the rela
tionship between personality variables and achievement
patterns.
Research Related to College
Academic Success
The emphasis on encouraging superior and above
average high school students to continue education at
the college level has presented new problems of selection
and prediction of success to college officials. Most
college admissions report that quality high school
grades, high academic aptitude scores, and high school
rank are no longer adequate in predicting continued edu
cational success. Fishman and Pasanella in a review of
college admission selection studies reported a total of
580 such studies had been made in the last ten years
(26). Prediction of college success has been one of the
most extensively explored topics in educational-psycho-
logical research and the literature reflects a variety
of experimental approaches. Many of the experimental
approaches have already been reported in the section on
30
non-intellectual factors related to achievement.
The following brief review will consider only
studies on prediction utilizing standard selection pro
cedures. McCormick and Asher' cite the consistent valid
ity of certain predictive variables such as high school
grade point average, general achievement test scores, and
general aptitude (48). Most investigators have agreed
with Cosand that alone and in combination the best pre
dictive factors are rank in class, high school grade
point average, and general achievement test scores (13).
The Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and The School and
College Ability Test (SCAT) and the older A.C.E. Psycho
logical Examination have received much attention as the
aptitude-achievement criteria of prediction. McCormick
and Asher, using the SAT and SCAT, determined that the
addition of high school math grades to the other scores
improved the predictive correlation considerably (48).
Seegars and Rose report that a high level of verbal
understanding improves the student's chance of receiving
high college grades, when aptitude is above-average (71).
Juola tested the validity of the subtests of SAT and
found that both the verbal and math scores of this test
are closely related to college grades (42). Middleton
and Guthrie draw attention to the usefulness of cognitive
tests and indices of previous achievement in predicting
college achievement (54). They are reasonably certain
31
that personality test scores can improve prediction but
I these yield less readily to quantitative treatment.
3
Ooleys and Renzaglia investigated the accuracy of
student prediction of college grades (18). They conclude
that self-estimates of college grades are accurate pre
dictors of college grades, but not so accurate as pre
dictions made from SCAT scares. As a group, freshmen
tend to overestimate grades, but the intellectually more
able student tends to underestimate future grades.
The relationship of first semester college grade
average to subsequent college performance uuas examined by
Willingham (84). From his data, the freshman grade aver
age provided the best estimate of subsequent college per
formance.
It would appear that authorities in the field of
admission requirements and selectivity are looking for
instruments with greater discrimination and predictabil
ity than the present entrance criteria of grades and test
scores.
Summary
The review of the literature has been presented
under three major categoriesi (1) characteristics of
junior college students; (2) research relating non-intel
lectual factors to achievement; and (3) predictive studies
assessing the relationship of intellective factors to
college success.
Writers in the field of junior college education
have been limited to generalized and demographic descrip
tive data to characterize junior college students. The
very fact that junior college students represent a cross-
section of the total college population leads to reiter
ated recommendation that further study of students in
individual junior colleges is needed to gain more quali
tative information about the various sub-groups of stu
dents in such colleges. Of special interest would be the
consideration of pre-college ability-achievement discrep
ancies and the acquisition of evidence of modification of
such ability-achievement patterns in junior college.
Studies relating non-intellectual factors to
achievement have reached voluminous proportions during
the last ten years, and it is estimated that the trend
for more such studies will be continued during the present
decade. The usual research design in these studies was
that of correlation and regression analysis using person
ality, motivation, and attitudinal measures and comparing
these with one or more criteria of achievement, usually
grades. Investigators have used a variety of testing
instruments and have obtained a variety of results, which
have been interpreted in many ways. A basic difficulty
in understanding the results was the determination of the
interpretive direction of the research. Since scant
33
evidence at this time is available for junior college
students, there is an obvious need for the identification i
of personal-social characteristics of junior college stu- ;
dents and to relate these data to achievement expectancy
in junior college. !
A three hundred per cent increase in college pre- ;
diction studies has occurred since 1955. Many of these
studies have relied heavily upon cognitive measures of
aptitude and achievement to predict college success.
Very little of this kind of research has beBn accomplished^
in junior colleges because of the non-selectivity in ad
mission requirements. The grouting knowledge about col
lege enrollment trends and the speculation that junior
colleges utill be enrolling greater numbers of students,
qualified by standard selection processes for admission
to other institutional types, lead to concern that re
search in this area be extended to more depthful study of
the ability-achievement qualities of junior college
students.
CHAPTER I I I
METHODS AND SOURCES OF DATA
The methodology of the study and the general re
search design appear as follouisi (1) description of the
setting and the sample groups, (2) description of the
sources of data, and (3) the statistical procedures
employed in the analysis of the results.
Setting of the Study and Description
of the Sample Groups
The study was conducted at Citrus College, a
publicly-supported junior college located in Azusa, Cali
fornia. The college at the time of the study had 2,080
day students, of which 1,440 were freshmen and 640 sopho
mores or special students. The college has operated
since 1915 and was the first junior college in Los Angeles
County. Historically, Citrus College has been one of the
smallest junior colleges in the county. Until 1955, the
average daily attendance did not exceed 500 units. Since
that time, the College has expanded its facilities and
has shown annual increases in student enrollment. It is
expected that by 1975 the day student population will
reach 4,000 students.
34
35
Fifty-six per cent of the students reside within
the communities of Azusa and Glendora. Non-district stu- ,
j
dents come from other San Gabriel communities, such as
Arcadia, Monrovia, El Monte, Duarte, and Claremont. For
the most part, these communities are non-industrial, with :
!
a high percentage of the working population commuting to
the metropolitan Los Angeles area. As defined by Warner,
these suburban cities are predominantly representative of
upper-middle and lower-middle class populations (81:59).
Table 1 indicates the distribution of student residents
(52:9).
It was in this setting that the proposed investi
gation was designed to determine the characteristic '
achievement patterns of high ability junior college fresh
men. High ability students were used not only because of
the intrinsic interest in the achievement patterns of
this group but also because a relatively homogeneous
group, possessing scholastic ability necessary to succeed
academically, is obtained.
Two groups of junior college students were
studied, one composed of freshmen entering in the fall of
1963, and the other of students entering in the fall,
1964. The criteria for selection of the groups were
scores obtained from the Cooperative School and College
Ability Tests, generally known as SCAT. Entering fresh
men are required to complete the SCAT as part of a test
36
Table 1
DISTRICT OF RESIDENCE, DAT STUDENTS ATTENDING
CITRUS JUNIOR COLLEGE DISTRICT,
FALL SEMESTER, 1964-65
Proportion
District of 13th 14th of total
residence grade grade Special Total enrollment
Citrus Junior College
Districts
Azusa
Glendora
300
483
131
199
15
35
446
717
21$
35$
Total, Citrus
J.C# District 783 330 50 1,163 56$
Other California districts
not in a junior college
districts
Alhambra H.S. 1 1 0$
Arcadia U. 186
73
2 261 12$
Claremont U* 11
5
1
17 1$
Duarte U* 82
23
2 107
5$
El Monte U.H.S.
84
37
1 122 6$
Monrovia U# 184
49
8 241 12$
Others 62 24 10
9.6 . . . 5$ _
Totals, Non
junior college 609 212 24 845 41$
districts
Other junior college
districts:
• Mt« San Antonio 40
17
2
59 3$
Others 8 4 1
_ 13
0$
Totals, Other
junior college 48 21
3
72 3$
districts
Totals, All Day students 1,440 563 77 2,080 100#
37
battery prior to enrolling. The SCAT was deemed an ap
propriate instrument for the measurement of academic
aptitude. Students who obtained scores reaching the
seventy-fifth percentile or higher, national norms, on
the SCAT were asked to participate in the sample. An
English placement test score from the Cooperative English
Test was compared with the SCAT verbal score to validate
the fact that the students were qualified for the usual
freshman English 1A course. Students with discrepant
scores on these measures were eliminated from selection.
The assumption was made that the verbal SCAT score and
the English Test score measure verbal ability and that
verbal ability is requisite to successful academic per
formance in college.
Students so identified were contacted by letter
and asked to participate in a special study of the
characteristics of high-ability students. Those who re
sponded were administered a test battery consisting of
the California Psychological Inventory (CPI), the Brown-
Holtzman Survey of Study Habits and Attitudes (SSHA), the
Strong Vocational Interest Blank (SVIB), and a brief
questionnaire. No attempt was made to force thB students
to participate in the special study, but they were prom
ised knowledge of the test results.
In the first group, fall 1963 freshmen, 150 stu
dents met the selection criteria; 99 students completed
38
the test battery. Sixty-five per cent of the freshmen in
the fall 1964 group completed the test battery. The first
sample, therefore, consisted of 99 students; the second
sample contained 60 students. Each sample group was then
divided into three sub-groups.on the basis of total high
school grade point average and first semester junior col
lege grade point average. Students who had similar high
school and first semester grade point averages were
placed in a "same" group. It was assumed that the grades
of college freshmen might reasonably show a differential
of minus .50 to plus .25 grade points when compared with
high school grade point average. Therefore, the grades
of students in the "same" group were allowed such a dif
ferential. Those students, so grouped, were considered
to be achieving at a level established by pre-college
grades.
Another group was classified as a "higher" group;
that is, their first semester college grades exceeded the
allowable differential and were in the direction of higher
than their high school grade point averages. Those stu
dents, grouped as higher, were deemed to be achieving at
a level higher than evidenced by pre-college grade point
average. The third sub-category classified students as a
"lower" group; that is, their first semester grade point
averages fell outside the limits of the allowable differ
ential and were notably lower than their high school
39
averages. The students in the latter category were per
forming at an achievement level lower than that indicated i
t
by their high school grade point average.
The rationale for the sub-groupings was to ascer
tain the extent to which the students in the samples
showed evidence of varying levels of academic achievement '
I
and, the extent to which they tend to persist at a level I
!
pre-established in high school. The sub-groups further j
f
allowed assessment of those students who evidence changes j
in academic performance when compared with past perform
ance, changes reflecting either lower or improved aca
demic performance.
Sources of Data
Since the primary concern of this study was to
determine what relationship exists between scholastic
achievement and selected non-intellectual factors, it was
necessary to administer to each member of the groups a
test battery in order to obtain data on study habits and
attitudes, vocational interests, and personality charac
teristics.
The review pf the literature revealed that several
standardized inventories were sufficiently valid for
attitude and trait assessment and should be used in
further research.
The Brown-Holtzman Survey of Study Habits (SSHA)
40
was employed to obtain a percentile rating on study habits
and attitudes. Westfall had reported that the SSHA does
differentiate among levels of achievement; grades are
positively associated with attitudes about study (S3).
In a more recent investigation, Malcolm found that the
SSHA was the best predictor of successful grades in 1
college, when attitude and achievement are dependent
variables (47). It was therefore assumed that the SSHA
may be a valuable instrument to include in the test j
j
battery, since aptitude was to be held constant and - j
|
variations in achievement were to be evaluated.
i
The Strong Vocational Interest Blank, as reported I
in the review of the literature, has been used exten
sively to measure vocational interests; the inventory has
reputed validity and reliability. The report form of the
SVIB yields standard scores for interest ratings on occu
pational groups. For the purpose of this study, it was
felt that the SVIB was an appropriate measure of occupa
tional goal-orientation.
Parley and his associates have placed considerable
emphasis on vocational groups rather than on individual
high scores (75»13). Crites found that kind, not
strength, of interest was related to vocational motiva
tion; that is, the concentration of interest in a voca
tional group was more important than dispersed high
scores. In this research design, it was decided to use
41
a modification of the Darley labeling for interpretation
of the SVIB report forms. Attention was to be directed
to individual high scores since the author had found that
scores on single scales have somewhat greater predictive
value than group scores (75*13). Students with high
scores (A rating) on one or two individual scales were
deemed to have a strong primary vocational interest.
Students with moderately high (B+ and B) scores dispersed
among two or more groups were classified as having broad
vocational interests. Individuals with only average
scores (B- and C+) widely distributed among the various
occupational groups were considered to have unclearly
defined vocational interests. Rarely do interests of
college freshman fall into the latter classification of
low-average scores widely dispersed among the occupational
groupings (75*13).
The members of the samples were to be classified
for intensity of vocational interest, labeled primary,
broad, and undefined; the degree of goal orientation was
then to be compared with achievement to assess the rela
tive Bffect of intensity of interest on acadamic perform
ance.
The California Psychological Inventory was chosen
as the instrument to measure personality traits of the
students in the samples in an effort to discover what re
lationship exists between personality factors and
achievement. The CPI appeared to be a suitable instrument
since the author designed the inventory to be used in edu
cational settings and emphasizes achievement-oriented
dimensions of personality. The review of the literature
contains the findings from some of the investigations in
which results from the CPI discriminated between over-
and under-achievers and supported the theoretical approach
that personological variables can be identified in
achievement patterning.
As stated in the manual, the CPI includes eight
een scales, each of which is intended to cover one impor
tant facet of interpersonal psychology. The total set of
scales is intended to provide a comprehensive survey of
an individual from a social interaction point of view
(29i5). Brief descriptions of the scales and the scale
groupings followt
Class I. Measures of poise, ascendancy, and self-
assurance.
1. D£ (dominance) (46 items). Purpose! To
assess factors of leadership ability, dominance,
persistence, and social initiative. Trait equiva
lent i DOMINANCE - indicating dominance, leadership,
initiative, and the tendency to behave in a forth
right and resolute manner.
2. Cj3 (capacity for status) (32 items). Pur
pose i To serve as an index of an individual^
capacity for status (rather than of his actual or
achieved status). The scale attempts to measure
the personological qualities and attributes which
underlie and lead to status. Trait equivalent!
CAPACITY FOR STATUS - reflecting the personal
qualities which underlie and lead to status and
social attainment; being ambitious, forceful, and
43
interested in success; the kind of person who will
get ahead in the world-
3. Sj£ (sociability) (36 itBms). Purposet To
identify persons of outgoing, sociable, participa
tive temperament. Trait equivalenti SOCIABILITY -
indicating a liking for and interest in social life
and activity, being outgoing and sociable; the kind
of person who enjoys group activities and likes to
be with and work with other people.
4. S£ ( social presence) (56 items). Purposei
To assess factors such as poise, spontaneity, and
self-confidence in personal and social interaction.
Trait equivalent* SPONTANEITY - indicating factors
such as poise, spontaneity, self-confidence, and
vivaciousness in personal and social interaction.
5. Sja (self-acceptance) (34 itBms). Purposet
To assess factors such as sense of personal worth,
self-acceptance, and capacity for independent
thinking and action. Trait equivalentt SELF-
ACCEPTANCE - reflecting one's sense of personal
worth and satisfaction with one's self; relative
freedom from self-doubt and critical attitudes
about one's self.
6. W]d (sense of wsll-being) (44 items). Pur
pose t To identify persons who minimize their
worries and complaints, and who are relatively free
from anxiety and disillusionment. Trait equivalent*
SENSE OF WELL-BEING - indicating a sense of physical
and emotional well-being and comfort; the feeling of
being able to enjoy life.
Class II. Measures of socialization, maturity, and
social responsibility.
7. Re (responsibility) (42 items). Purpose*
To identify persons of conscientious, responsible,
and dependable disposition and temperament. Trait
equivalenti RESPONSIBILITY - indicating serious
ness of thought and manner, conscientiousness,
dependability, and uprightness; being the kind of
person that others tend to trust and to rely upon.
8. Sio (socialization) (54 items). Purposet
To indicate the degree of social maturity, probity,
and rectitude which the individual has attained.
Trait equivalentt PROPRIETY - indicating a strong
sense of probity and propriety; acceptance of rules,
44
proper authority, and custom; a person who seldom
if ever gets into trouble.
|
9. Sc_ (self-control) (50 items). Purpose: To
assess the degree and adequacy of self-regulation
and self-control, and the freedom from impulsivity
and self-centeredness. Trait equivalent: SELE-
CQNTROL - indicating the degree and adequacy of
self-regulation and self-control; not impulsive,
or given to acting on the spur of the moment. j
10. T_o (tolerance) (32 items). Purpose: To j
identify persons with permissive, accepting, and
non-judgmental social beliefs and attitudes. Trait
equivalent: TOLERANCE - indicating attitudes of
permissiveness, tolerance, and acceptance of others;
being open-minded and unprejudiced about beliefs and I
values quite different from one's own. j
11. £i (good impression) (40 items). Purpose: i
To identify persons capable of creating a favorable
impression and who are concerned about how others
react to them. Trait equivalent: GOOD IMPRESSION -
indicating an interest in making a good impression
and being concerned about how others will react to
oneself.
12. Cm (communality) (28 items). Purpose: To
indicate the degree to which an individuals reac-
tions and responses correspond to the modal ("com
mon") pattern established for the inventory. Trait
equivalent: SIMILARITY TO OTHERS - indicating a
fitting in with the crowd, having the same reactions
and feelings as everyone else, seeing things the way
most people see them.
Class III. Measures of achievement potential and
intellectual efficiency.
13. A£ (achievement via conformance) (38 items).
Purpose: To identify those factors of interest and
motivation which facilitate achievement in any
setting where conformance is a positive behavior.
Trait equivalent: ADAPTIVE ACHIEVEMENT - indicating
someone with a strong need for achievement, and who
is at his best in situations having definite rules
and structure.
14. A_i (achievement via independence) (32 items).
Purpose: To identify those factors of interest and
motivation which facilitate achievement in any
45
setting uihere autonomy and independence are positive
behaviors. Trait equivalentt INDEPENDENT ACHIEVE
MENT - indicating the kind of person who has a
strong need for achievement, and uiho is at his best
in new or untried situations where he must work on
his own and without external guidance.
15. £E (intellectual efficiency) (52 items).
Purposet To indicate the degree of personal and
intellectual efficiency which the individual has
attained. Trait equivalent* INTELLECTUAL EFFI
CIENCY - indicating the efficiency with which one
uses intellectual and personal resources; the
ability to start working quickly, without need to
delay or procrastinate, and to keep working on
intellectual tasks over long periods of time.
Class IV. Measures of personal orientation and
attitudes toward life.
16. (psychological-mindedness) (22 items).
Purposet To measure the degree to which thB indi
vidual is interested in, and responsive to, the
inner needs, motives, feelings, and experiences of
others. Trait equivalent! SENSITIVITY TO OTHERS -
indicating the degree to which one is interested in
and responsive to the inner needs, motives, and
feelings of others; being intraceptive, sensitive
to others; having a knack for understanding how
others feel and react inwardly.
17. Fx, (flexibility) (22 items). PurposBi To
indicate thB degree of flexibility and adaptability
of a person's thinking and social behavior. Trait
equivalenti FLEXIBILITY - indicating the degree of
flexibility and adaptability of a person's thinking
and social behavior; the liking for change and inno
vation and even a preference for things new and un
tried ■
^8* F_e (femininity) (38 items). Purposei To
assess the masculinity or femininity of temperament
(high scores more feminine, low scores more mascu
line). Trait equivalents NURTURANCE - indicating
the tendency to help and support others through
patience and loving kindness; being in general gentle
and sympathetic. (Low scorers tend to be more de
cisive, robust, and action-oriented.)
To complete the test battery, each student in the
46
sample completed a brief questionnaire. From the ques
tionnaire it was possible to collate personal data, such
as age, sex, marital status, educational goal, occupa
tional goal, father's occupation and education, mother's
occupation and education, percentage of need for self-
support, and percentage of time employed. The students
then responded "yes" or "no" to twenty brief, undisgui-
sedly-direct statements, such as "I have always wanted
to attend college"; "I like the major I am studying";
"I usually get the grades I expect to get"; "I feel my
parents want me to go to college"; "I would rather be in
a four-year college or university than in a junior col
lege," Three statements were included in the question
naire to ascertain the influence of significant others
in determining the student's educational and/or vocational
objective.
An interview with each of the 159 students fol-
lowed the completion of the test battery. During the
interview the student was apprised of his test results,
and it was possible for the writer to gain through dis
cussion and observation additional information about the
student's insight and self-undsrstanding.
Statistical Procedure
The purpose of this study was to determine what
relationship•exists between academic achievement attained
47
by a group of intellectually capable junior collage stu
dents and selected non-intellectual variables.
Since it is possible to measure the relationship
between more than two variables through the process of
partial and multiple correlation, the data from the test
battery were coded and prepared for the IBM 1620 Com
puter. The statistical treatment was multiple regression
analysis and the program is available from the IBM Gen
eral Program Library. This program provides averages
and variances, all simple pairwise correlations, and re
gression analysis for all data inputs. To increase com
putational accuracy in the multiple regression analysis,
the data are coded to zero or near-zero averages in order
to reduce the inherent correlation between variables. An
automatic deletion feature, where the least significant
variable is deleted automatically and the regression co
efficients adjusted as if the deleted variable had not
been included, permits the elimination of non-significant
variables from the regression model and thus further im
proves computational accuracy.
As described above, the independent variables
were scores from the Brown-Holtzmann Survey of Study
Habits (SSHA), the Strong Vocational Interest Blanks
(SVIB), and the California Psychological Inventory (CPl).
The high school grade point average was also included in
the regression model. The instruments yielded twenty-one
48
separate scores. The dependent variable was the junior
college first semester grade average.
A test for homogeneity of means and variances
was used to test the assumption that the means being
compared were drawn from populations similar in variance
In each case the assumption was upheld and analyses were
made combining both samples. Table 2 lists the means
and variances of the two groups.
Therefore, separate analyses were performed for
each of the three sub-groupings in the total sample.
Sub-groups from the first and second samples were com
bined in order to increase the numbers in the groups and
thereby improve the statistical accuracy. For compara
tive purposes, additional analyses were performed for th
total sample, for the total males, and for the total fe
males.
Summary
The procedure used in this study consisted of ad
ministering to a group of junior college freshmen, se
lected on the basis of academic aptitude as intellectu
ally capable, three tests purporting to measure study
habits, vocational interest, and personality character
istics. All students were freshmen in attendance at
Citrus College, a publicly-supported junior college
located in Azusa, California.
49
Table 2
WEANS AND VARIANCES FOR THE
1963 AND 1964 FRESHMEN
1963
Average
F reshmen
Variance
1964
Average
F reshmen
Variance Total
HSGPA 10.59 5.18 10.80 6.94 .11
2nd JC 9.54 14.49 9.63 14.10 .02
Pred. JC 10.68 4.38 10.60 10.04 - .03
SVIB 3.08 .18 3.38 .27 4.54
SSHA 5.00 8.41 4.67 8.26 - .14
CPI-Do 5.02 1 .45 4.92 1.81 - .22
CPI-Cs 4.80 1.10 4.90 1.04 .33
CPI-Sy 4.87 1.30 4.75 1 .44 - .30
CPI-Sp 5.21 1.37 5.22 1.49 .01
CPI-Sa 5.59 1.20 5.57 1.33 - .08
CPI-Wb 4.40 1.67 4.20 1.31 - .47
CP2-Re 4.89 1.00 4.88 .82 - .02
CPI-So 4.78 1.17 4.68 1 .34 - .26
CPI-Sc 4.19 1 .69 4.25 1.14 .14
CPI-To 4.77 1 .26 4.97 .91 .62
CPI-Gi 4.12 1 .37 4.10 .87 - .06
CPI-Cm 5.06 .77 5.33 .53 1 .43
CPI-Ac 4.51 1.39 4.53 1.17 .05
CPI-Ai 5.29 .90 5.62 .82 1.30
CPI-IE 4.91 1.20 4.92 1.06 .02
CPI-Py 4.82 1 .05 4.85 .98 .11
CPI-Fx 5.64 1 .29 5.72 1.09 .23
CPI-Fe 4.94 1.16 4.93 1.01 - .02
1st JC 9.36 8.80 9.58 13.74 .06
50
Ninety-nine freshmen from the 1963-64 class and
i sixty freshmen from the 1964-65 class participated in the j
i
study. The total sample of 159 students was divided into |
three groups, according to comparisons made between
present and past achievement in terms of grade point
average. Each group was then analyzed for the influence j
|
of the selected non-intellectual variables upon the !
criterion variable of junior college first semester grade i
point average. Additional analyses were conducted for i
I
the total group and for the total male and female groups. [
The statistical treatment was multiple regression
analysis, utilizing the IBM 1620 Computer. Multiple
correlations were computed using all variables and par-
tialling out those that were significantly related to the
criterion at or beyond the .05 level.
CHAPTER IV
FINDINGS FROM THE PREDICTIVE INSTRUMENTS
It is the purpose of this chapter to present the
findings from the statistical analyses employed in the
study. The general hypothesis was that there will be in
a study of junior college students, selected by academic
aptitude as intellectually capable, evidence of varying
levels of academic achievement and that such discrepant
achievement is not a function of intellectual potential
but rather a combination of factors which can be assessed
by self-report measures in the area of personality, voca
tional interest, and academic attitudes.
The chapter was organized in accordance with the
questions proposed in Chapter I. Partial and multiple
correlations of the predictors with first semester junior
college grade point average appear in appropriate tables
for each of the groups studied. ThB selected variables
that showed a significant correlation with the criterion
of first semester grade point average are discussed for
each group and for the total sample, males and females.
51
Achievement Lev/els
A comparison of high school grade point average
and junior college first semester grade point average uias
the basis for the classification of the students into sub
groups. The students grouped as “same" were considered
to be achieving in junior college at a level similar to
that established by pre-college grades. The “higher"
group earned junior college grades that were higher than
their high school grades. The "lower" group performed in
junior college at a level lower than that indicated by
high school grade point average.
The comparison of high school and first semester
junior college grade point averages revealed that fifty-
five per cent of the students achieved in college at the
same academic level they had maintained in high school.
Thirty-one per cent achieved at a lower level, and four
teen per cent improved their academic average in junior
college. Analysis of the grade distributions for the
1963 freshmen and 1964 freshmen yielded approximately the
same percentages to be placed in the arbitrary sub-group
ings. The majority, or fifty-five per cent, continued
to achieve in junior college at a level pre-established
in high school; fourteen per cent showed improvement?
and thirty-one per cent did not maintain academic aver
ages commensurate with high school achievement. Grade
distributions for the three groups may be found in
53
Table 3* The percentage of representation for each sub
group is reported in Table 4.
Since all of the students in the study had been
selected on the basis of upper quartile academic apti
tude, analysis was made of grade distribution for abil-
ity-achievement discrepancy. Seven per cent of the 159
students had grade point averages which fell below a
2.00 grade point average. Seventy per cent earned
grades in the "C" range, and twenty-three per cent had
earned high school grade averages of 3.0 or above. No
attempt was made to classify the students on the basis
of under-achievement, since the study was concerned with
ascertaining whether high ability junior college freshmen
continue patterns of academic achievement commensurate
with high school achievement.
The sub-group classified as "same" continued to
exhibit the same range in grade distribution, and 43 per
cent of these continued to have 3.0 or better grade point
averages. In the "lower" group, the same percentage,
43, were unable to maintain the 3.0 or better grade point
average previously earned in high school. Students in
the higher group, those who showed improvement in
achievement level, were preponderantly "C" range high
school students who achieved in college at a 3.0 (B) or
better average.
In the "same" group, females had consistently
54
Table 3
GRADE DISTRIBUTION
1963 Freshmen (99)
Sames Highs Louis Total
H.S.G.P.A. m F m F F m F
4.0-3.0 0 8 0 0 5 5 5 13
2.9-2.5 a 20 3 4 10 9 21 33
2.4-2.0 12 4 3 2 1 0 16 6
1.9-1.0 J3 J3
_2 _0 _0 _0 _J5 _0
T otals 23 32 8 6 16 14 47 52
Combined Total 55 14 30 99
1964 Freshmen (60)
H.S.G.P.A.
Sames
( V I F
Highs
( V I F
Louis
m F
Total
f f l F
4.0-3.0 4 10 0 0 1 2 5 12
2.9-2.5 3 6 4 1 9 5 16 12
2.4-2.0 5 1 0 1 1 0 6 2
1.9-1.0 4 0 2 0 1 0 7 0
T otals 16 17 6 2 12 7 34 26
Combined Total 33 8 19 60
55
Table 3--Continu8d
GRADE DISTRIBUTION
Total Group
H.S.G.P.A. I Y I
Sames
F T I Y I
Highs
F T M
Louis
F T I Y I
Total
F T
4.0-3.0 4 18 22 0 0 0 6 7 13 10 25 35
2.9-2.5 11 26 37 7 5 12 19 14 33 37 45 82
2.4-2.0 17 5 22 3 3 6 2 0 2 22 8 30
1 .9-1.0 7 0 7 4 0 4 1 0 1 1? 0 12
'
Totals 39 49 88 14 8 22 28 21 49 81 78 159
Table 4
PERCENTAGE REPRESENTATION OF FRESHMEN
CLASSIFIED IN SUB-GROUPS
1963 Freshmen ' 1964 Freshmen Total
N
%
N
%
N
%
Sames 55 55.6 33 55.0 88 55.35
Highs 14 14.1 8 13.3 22 13.84
Louis 30 30.3 19 31.7 49 30.81
Total 99 100.0 60 100.0 159 100.00
earned higher high school averages. In the lower and
higher groups, little difference in range uias noted be
tween males and females.
The correlations between high school grade average
and first semester junior college grade point average are
reported in Table 5. All correlations are significant at
Table 5
CORRELATIONS BETWEEN HIGH SCHOOL GRADE
POINT AVERAGE AND FIRST SEMESTER JUNIOR
COLLEGE GRADE POINT AVERAGE
Significance
Group Correlation Level
Same .93 .01
Higher .68 .01
Lower .61 .01
Total Males .47 .01
Total Females .28 .05
Total Group *45 .01
the .01 level, except for the total fBmales, which reached
only a .D5 level. The findings substantiate the widely-
accepted assumption that high school grade average is a
strong predictor variable in the determination of aca
demic achievement level? its effect appears even within
restricted groupings.
The comparison of pre-college grades and first
semester college grades for the total group revealed that
70 per cent of the students were performing in the "C"
average range; only 23 per cent were "B" or better
57
students; and 7 per cent were achieving in the MDH
average range. The findings suggest that junior college
freshmen whose predicted academic performance place them
in the upper seventy-fifth percentile of the population
do not generally perform at the expected level; their
performance range more closely resembles that of students
in the average range of ability. The findings indicate
the high ability junior college students generally con
tinue to achieve at an academic level pre-established in
high school. Changes in academic performance are moder
ate and usually representative of less satisfactory
achievement.
Non-Intellectual Predictors
of Achievement
All students in the study were administered three
tests purporting to measure study habits, vocational
interest, and personality variables. The standardized
instruments were the 8rown-Holtzmann Survey of Study
Habits and Attitudes (SSHA), the Strong Vocational In
terest Blank (SVIB), and the California Psychological
Inventory (CPl).
The total decile rating of the SSHA was the score
used to assess study habits and attitudes. For correla
tional purposes, the intensity of vocational interest was
scaled on a four-point continuum, "4" equivalent to
strong-primary interests, "3" indicative of high and
58
broad interests, "2" representing average and scattered
interests, and "1," low and unclearly defined interests.
Each standard score from the eighteen scales of the CPI,
defined in Chapter III, were entered into the analyses as
a single predictor. The high school grade point average
was also used as an independent variable. The above data
yielded 21 separate scores. A multiple regression anal
ysis by the IBM 1620 Computer utilized all 21 variables.
The inter-correlation matrix for these variables appears
in Table 6.
Separate analyses were performed for each group
and for the total group, including one for all males and
one for all females. In a large matrix, the accumulated
round-off errors are large; consequently, twelve of the
least significant variables were eliminated by automatic
deletion. The remaining nine variables were included in
the multiple regression analyses.
Findinos for the "Same" Group
Multiple correlation was used to determine the
influence of the nine variables which appeared in each
group upon the criterion variable of first semester
junior college grade point average. For the "same”
group, the following variables were partialed out* high
school grade point average (HSGPA), communality (Cm),
intellectual efficiency (IE), capacity for status (Cs),
Table 6
INTERCORRELATION MATRIX
o
HSGPA
2 n d JC
•
•8
t.
C L , SVIB
3§
to
to
o
«
( f t
O to
a.
to < 8 §
a >
o tf
o
to
O
C O
o •H
a
E
o
o
<
-H
C
> »
a*
x a >
C t.
1st JC
HSGFA 1.00 .47
.46 -.2 1
.13
.OS .10 .0 9 .06 .10
.15 .13 .30 .05
.12 t J
• I
o
C D
.07 .06 •
o
C O
.06 .1 0
.03 .02 .29
2nd JC 1.00 .79
-.0 2 .43 .09 .07 .03 .06 .06 .22 .11 .3 0 .25 .11 .10 .01 .1 4 .04 .2 4 .20 .04 - .1 4
.51
F re d . JC 1.00 -.0 8 .48
.25 .15 .15 .09
.2 6 .22 .10
.2 9 .21
.15 .0? .15 .30 .10
-.23
.12
o
o
•
-.0 8 .66
S’ /IB 1.00 .10
.03 .03 .19 .05
- .0 2 .0 4 .22 -.0 7 .07 .22
.19 .17
.21 .01 .1 4 -.0 2 - .0 2 .01 -.0 6
SSHA 1.00
.33 .25
.22 .2 4
.17
.42
.30 .15 .37
.26
.25 .13 .39 .11 .32 .29 - .1 8 - .0 3 .29
Do 1.00 .45 .68 •56 .59
.21 .35 -.0 9 -.1 2 .27 .07
.20 .3 4 .01
.29 .11 -.2 5 - .0 3 .09
Cs 1.00 .65
.61 .43 .29 .25
- .0 4 .10 .42
.1 ?
.02 .38 .25 .36 .21 .00 .0 0 .18
Sy
1.00
.67 .67
.2 4 .39
.00 -.0 7 .43 .19 .30 .42
.03 .51 .11 -.1 2 - .0 4
.12
So
*
1.00
.51 .27
.16
-.2 3
-.2 0 .29 -.0 5 .19 .27 .16 .39
.12
.05
-.1 0
.05
Sa 1.00 .0 2 .02 - .1 2
-.3 1
.01 -.2 1 .0 4
.19 -.2 2 .19 - .1 9 -.1 5 .03 .19
W b 1.00 .38 .35 .55 .51 .38 .13 .58 .29 .52 .20 -.1 9 - .1 3 .13
Re 1,00
.37
.40 .61 .49 .30 .50 .41 .61 .46 .00 .08 .07
So 1.00 .4 4
.19 .17 .25 .23
.10 .32 .22 -.0 5 .10 .12
Sc 1.00 .58 .73
.08
.55
.48 .46 .45 .03 .05 .11
To 1.00
.65 .31 .65 .65 .73 .51
.10 .02
.05
Oi 1.00 .10
.4 9 .49 .53
.5 0 .11 -.0 1 .09
C m 1.00 .43 .16 .26 .12
cn
O
•
1
.03
.04
Ac 1.00 .3 4 .56 .30
-.1 7
.04 .20
Ai 1.00 .46 .60 .41 -.0 2 .12
IE 1.00 .46 .11 -.0 7 .16
Py
1.00 .26 .0 4
.09
?x 1.00 .06 .01
Fe 1.00 .00
1 s t JC
1.00
60
achievement via independence (Ai), flexibility (Fx),
socialization (So), and study habits (SSHA). In this
group, seven scales of the CPI, high school grade point
average, and the SSHA score were considered. The cor
relation of these predictors with junior college grade
point average are shown in Table 7. The multiple cor
relations obtained appear in Table B.
The best predictor for this group was, as ex
pected, HSGPA. The addition of non-intellectual factors
does not significantly improve the multiple coefficient
of correlation because of the high degree of HSGPA cor
relation caused by the arbitrary grouping. The non-in
tellectual factors that were partialed out by regression
analysis all relate to the value the individual places on
himself as a socialized individual, controlled, and ac
cepting the values of the educational system.
Students who persist in college at the same level
priorly established in high school appear to have the
following characteristics in common: seriousness of pur
pose, sense of responsibility to self and others, moder
ately effective study habits, and considerable self-
direction.
Findings for the "Lower” Group
From the regression analysis, the following non-
intellectual factors were combined with high school
61
Table 7
|
CORRELATIONS BETWEEN PREDICTORS AND JCGPA I
FOR THE SAME GROUP
Predictors r
HSGPA .927
SSHA .478
CPI-Cm .166
CPI-Re .367
CPI-IE .205
CPI-Cs .140
CPI-Ai .169
CPI-Fx .077
CPI-So .402
N = 88
Table 8
MULTIPLE CORRELATIONS BETWEEN PREDICTORS
AND JCGPA IN THE SAME GROUP
Predictors R
HSGPA
-
.927
HSGPA, Cm .931
HSGPA, Cm, Re
*
.932
HSGPA, Cm, Re, IE .933
HSGPA, Cm, Re,
IE,
Cs .934
HSGPA, Cm, Re, IE, Cs, Ai .935
HSGPA, Cm, Re, IE, Cs, Ai, Fx .936
HSGPA, Cm, Re, IE, Cs, Ai, Fx, So .937
HSGPA, Cm, Re, IE, C s, Ai, Fx, So, SSHA .937
N s 88
average for the group designated as "lower": femininity
(Fe), self-acceptance (Sa), dominance (Do), good impres
sion (Gi), communality (Cm), study habits (SSHA), inten
sity of vocational interest (SVIB), and sense of well
being (Ulb). The best single predictor of junior college
achievement in this group was high school grade point
average. The inclusion of all of the above non-intel
lectual factors produces a multiple correlation signifi
cantly greater than the multiple correlation with a
smaller number of variables. The contribution from the
non-intellectual factors is relatively small. However,
the CPI variables which appeared to be related to achieve
ment level attained by students in the "lower" group are
different from the "same" group. Only one scale, com
munality, appeared for both groups. This variable, how
ever, has greater strength for the "same" group; they
appear more conforming than the "lower" group. The
"lower" group appear to be less hard working, are more
relaxed, more aesthetic, more interested in making a
good impression socially, less anxious about school work,
and more participating in campus activities. The "lower"
group show a good degree of self-acceptance. The inten
sity of vocational interest added only a small amount of
unique variance as did the SSHA. Tables 9 and 10 list
the correlations for the "lower" group.
63
Table 9
CORRELATIONS BETWEEN PREDICTORS AND JCGPA
FOR THE LOWER GROUP
Predictors r
HSGPA .612
SSHA .024
SVIB -.224
CPI-Fe .145
CPI-Sa .153
CPI-Do .037
CPI-Gi .071
CPI-Cm .1 23
CPI-Wb .081
N = 49
Table 10
MULTIPLE
AND
CORRELATION BETWEEN PREDICTORS
JCGPA IN THE LOWER GROUP
Predictors R
HSGPA .612
HSGPA, Fe .624
HSGPA, Fe, Sa .638
HSGPA, Fe, Sa, Do .667
HSGPA, Fe, Sa, Do, Gi .692
HSGPA, re, Sa, Do, Gi, SSHA .717
HSGPA, Fe, Sa, Do, Gi, SSHA, SVIB .737
HSGPA, Fe, Sa, Do, Gi, SSHA, SVIB, Cm .751
HSGPA, Fe, Sa, Do, Gi, SSHA, SVIB, Cm, Wb .761
N = 49
Findinos for the "Hioher" Group
The "higher" group had significant correlations
with six scales of the CPI, the high school grade average,
and the SSHA. The best partial correlation with achieve
ment in this group was, again, the high school grade point
average. However, the addition of non-intellectual fac
tors significantly increased the multiple R. The best
predictive model was obtained by combining HSGPA, the
SSHA, and two CPI scales--Re and Gi. The addition of
four other scales--Cs, Cm, Do, and To--plus the StflB did
not significantly increase the multiple correlation co
efficient obtained with fewer variables.
The findings suggest that students in the "higher"
group, those who begin to show grade improvement, see
themselves as efficient, forceful, persevering, poised,
and resourceful. The Gi, or good impression scale, dif
ferentiates between the "higher" and "lower" groups bi-
polarly. The "highers" appear more inner-directed and
less concerned with the reactions of others; the "lowers,"
in contrast, seem to be more other-directed and more
sensitive and responsive to the reactions of others. The
strongest degree of achievement motivation can be noted
in the "higher" group. The correlative results for the
"higher" group are listed in Tables 11 and 12.
65
Table 11
CORRELATION BETWEEN PREDICTORS AND
JCGPA FOR THE HIGHER GROUP
Predictors r
HSGPA .688
SSHA .322
SVIB .168
CPI-Re .349
CPI-Gi -.302
CPI-Cs .119
CPI-Cm .111
CPI-Do .194
CPI-To -.249
; N = 22
Table 12
MULTIPLE CORRELATION BETWEEN PREDICTORS
AND JCGPA IN THE HIGHER GROUP
Predictors R
HSGPA .688
HSGPA, Re .723
HSGPA, Re, Gi .790
HSGPA, Re,
Gi,
SSHA .867
HSGPA, Re, Gi, SSHA, Cs .894
HSGPA, Re,
Gi,
SSHA, Cs, C m .897
HSGPA, Re,
Gi,
SSHA, Cs, Cm, Do .898
HSGPA, Re, Gi, SSHA, Cs, Cm, Do, SVIB .899
HSGPA, Re, Gi, SSHA, Cs, Cm, Do, SVIB, To .900
N = 22
66
Findings for the Total Group
For comparative purposes, separate analyses were
performed for the total group. Variables that showed
significant correlations with the criterion of junior
college grade point average are listed in Table 13 and
the multiple correlations may be found in Table 14. For
the total group the correlation between high school and
junior college grades is .458 and is lower than that
found in any of the sub-groups. The correlation of study
habits (SSHA) is .362 and higher than that found in the
sub-groups, except for the "same" group. However, in the
total group, SSHA was the most important variable and
coupled with high school grade point average gave the
best prediction. The multiple R became significantly
greater by the addition of four CPI scales* tolerance
(To), self-control (Sc), self-acceptance (Sa), and
achievement via independence (Ai). These CPI scales
suggest that achievement level is influenced by certain
personality characteristics* the more successful stu
dents have a healthy self-acceptance, broad and varied
interests, and capacity for independent thought and
action. They appear to have adequate self-control and
see themselves as being persons with permissive, accept
ing, and non-judgmental social beliefs and attitudes.
The analyses for the total males are reported in
Tables 15 and 16. The best single predictor again is
67
Table 13
CORRELATIONS BETWEEN PREDICTORS AND
JCGPA FOR THE TOTAL GROUP
Predictors r
HSGPA .458
SSHA .362
CPI-To .075
CPI-Sc .196
CPI-Sa .115
CPI-Ai .124
CPI-Cm .117
CPI-So .145
CPI-Sp -.029
N = 159
Table 14
MULTIPLE CORRELATIONS BETWEEN PREDICTORS AND
JCGPA FOR THE TOTAL GROUP
Predictors R
HSGPA .458
HSGPA, SSHA .514
HSGPA, SSHA, To .519
HSGPA, SSHA, To, Sc .524
HSGPA, SSHA, To, Sc, Sa .538
HSGPA, SSHA, To, Sc, Sa, Ai .549
HSGPA, SSHA, To, Sc, Sa, Ai, Cm • 556
HSGPA, SSHA, To, Sc, Sa, Ai, Cm, So .564
HSGPA, SSHA , To, Sc, Sa, Ai, Cm, So, Sp • 566
N = 159
68
Table 15
CORRELATIONS BETWEEN PREDICTORS AND
JCGPA FOR THE TOTAL WALES
Predictors r
HSGPA .477
CPI-Sc .185
CPI-So .126
CPI-Gi -.034
CPI-Sa .106
CPI-IE .007
CPI-Ai .131
CPI-To .041
CPI-Sp .01 2
N s 81
Table 16
MULTIPLE CORRELATIONS BETWEEN PREDICTORS
AND JCGPA FOR THE TOTAL MALES
Predictors R
HSGPA .477
HSGPA, Sc .494
HSGPA , Sc, So .529
HSGPA, Sc, So, Gi .565
HSGPA, Sc, So,
Gi,
Sa .584
HSGPA, Sc, So, Gi, Sa, IE .602
HSGPA, Sc, So,
Gi,
Sa, IE, Ai .610
HSGPA, 5c, So,
Gi,
Sa, IE, Ai, To .620
HSGPA, Sc, So, Gi, Sa, IE, Ai, To, Sp .630
N = 81
69
HSGPA. However, a significantly greater multiple correla
tion is found by adding self-control (Sc), socialization
(So), and good impression (Gi). A larger, but not sig
nificantly larger, multiple R occurred from addition of
self-acceptance, intellectual efficiency, achievement via
independence, tolerance, and social presence. SSHA and
vocational interest did not appear as significant vari
ables. The key factors in academic achievement of the
total males seemed to be pre-college achievement combined
with personality traits of self-control and self-direc
tion, social maturity, and freedom from undue convention
ality and deference.
Unlike any of the other sub-groupings, the best
single predictor of academic achievement for the total
females is the SSHA score. This variable combined with
HSGPA and five CPI scales produces the most significant
multiple R. The personality factors characterizing
achievement for females are achievement via conformance
(Ac), tolerance (To), achievement via independence (Ai),
intellectual efficiency (IE), and capacity for status
(Cs).
Academically successful females seemed to be self-
regulatory individuals who are strongly motivated toward
academic achievement, interested in success, forceful,
ambitious, and accepting of the goals of education. The
findings suggest that high ability females usually
7Q
achiev/e academically at a level commensurate with their
academic potential because their value-orientation closely j
approximates the values imposed in the educational milieu.■
Tables 17 and 18 list the correlations for the total fe
males.
Summary
The findings are in effect answers to the first
four questions proposed in Chapter I.
High ability junior college students did show
evidence of varying levels of academic achievement ascer
tained from both high school and first semester junior j
college grades. The performance range of junior college
freshmen whose aptitudes place them in the top twenty-
five per cent of the population resembled the range
attained by students of average ability.
The majority of the students continued to achieve
in college at an academic level pre-established in high
school. A small percentage of the students showed im
provement? a third of the students performed less satis
factorily. Differential achievement, it was assumed, was
related to factors other than aptitude potential.
The findings indicated that self-report measures
of study habits and attitudes, intensity of vocational
interests, and personality characteristics did relate
significantly to the patterns of achievement of able
71
Table 17
CORRELATIONS BETWEEN PREDICTORS AND
JCGPA FOR THE TOTAL FEMALES
Predictors r
HSGPA .286
SSHA .292
CPI-Ac .199
CPI-To .045
CPI-Ai .124
CPI-IE .161
CPI-Cs .178
CPI-Re .045
CPI-Sc .106
N = 78
Table 18
MULTIPLE CORRELATIONS BETWEEN PREDICTORS
AND JCGPA FOR THE TOTAL FEMALES
Predictors R
SSHA .292
SSHA, HSGPA .384
SSHA, HSGPA, Ac .396
SSHA, HSGPA, Ac, To .419
SSHA, HSGPA, Ac, To, Ai .448
SSHA, HSGPA, Ac, To,
Ai, IE .470
SSHA, HSGPA, Ac, To, Ai, IE, Cs .478
SSHA, HSGPA, Ac, To,
Ai, IE,
Cs, Re .498
SSHA, HSGPA, Ac, To, Ai,
IE,
Cs, Re, Sc .509
N s 78
junior college students. The contribution of these vari
ables changed under the conditions of sub-groupings.
In all cases except one, the high school grade
average was the strongest single predictor of college
achievement. The SSHA was significantly related to
i
achievement in four of the six groupings and intercorre-
i
I
lated with selected personality characteristics. j
t
Intensity of vocational interest as measured by ;
the Sl/IB did not contribute significantly to achievement
or achievement patterns of the students in this study. j
Several of the CPI scales were related to achieve- :
ment. In the sub-groupings, communality (Cm), as might
be expected, appeared in the sub-groups, representing
similar degree of modal responses. Intellectual effici
ency (IE), flexibility (Fx), and socialization (So) com
bine to be representative characteristics of the "same"
group. Responsibility (Re) and good impression (low Gi)
were influential variables for the "higher" group.
Femininity (Fe), self-acceptance (Sa), and dominance (Do)
were key factors for the "lower" group.
For the total group the CPI scales which contrib
ute significantly in multiple correlation are tolerance,
self-control, self-acceptance, achievement via independ
ence, communality, socialization, and social presence.
For females the bBst CPI predictors of differen
tial achievement are achievement via conformance,
achievement via independence, tolerance, intellectual
efficiency, capacity for status, responsibility, and ;
self-control.
For males, the multiple correlations are improved
by adding self-control, socialization, good impression
(negative correlation), self-acceptance, intellectual j
i
efficiency, achievement via independence, tolerance, and
social presence.
From these findings it appeared that differential
achievement can be attributable to factors other than
aptitude, when aptitude is held constant. In this study j
of high ability junior college students, the successful j
achievement pattern is that of positive personal effective
ness coupled with diligence, self-control, social aware
ness, and restraint.
CHAPTER V
FINDINGS FROM THE QUESTIONNAIRE
It is the purpose of this chapter to present the
findings derived from the brief questionnaire. Personal
data such as age, sex, marital status, educational and
occupational goal, father's occupation and education,
mother's occupation and education, percentage of need for
self-support, and percentage of time employed were col
lated and are reported for the subjects in each group.
Responses to the twenty-three questions related to moti
vational factors for college attendance are reported for
each group.
Age, Sex, and Marital Status
The total sample of 159' students participating in
the study contained fifty-one per cent males and forty-
nine per cent females. Only nine per cent of the total
group were married students. The greatest number of
married students appeared in the "higher" group. In in
terview, these married students stated that their marriage
had heightened their interest in the benefits to be de
rived from education and increased their seriousness of
74
75
purpose.
The age range represented in the total sample uias
from seventeen to thirty-nine years of age. Three per
cent of the students were over twenty-six, ten per cent
of the students were over twenty-one, and the vast major
ity, eighty-seven per cent of the students, were in the
expected junior college age range of seventeen to twenty
years. Again, the "higher" group contained the largest
percentage of students over twenty-one.
These findings suggest that improvement in
achievement in the "higher" group is attributable to cer
tain maturing experiences in the lives of these students.
The "higher" group were generally older, married students
who were motivated to achieve academically and adjusting
their performance to the reality demands of their occupa
tional goals. This same group, as noted in Chapter IV,
had shown that sense of responsibility and efficiency of
study habits were contributory to their improved college
achievement. '
Educational and Occupational Goals
The students were asked to indicate their educa
tional goal according to ultimate college degree to which
they aspired. Eighty-six per cent of the students sought
at least a bachelor's degree and forty-eight per cent of
those planned to continue college for master's and/or
76
doctorate degrees. The men showed consistently higher
degree aspiration. The few students who expected to earn
less than a bachelor's degree were women and these stu
dents were in either.the "same" or "lower" groups.
In the. area of occupational goal, the students
responded that they expected to work in business, in
technical fields, or in a profession. Sixty-five per cent
of the students planned a professional career, fifteen per
cent were striving for technical competency, and eleven
per cent chose business as an occupational goal. Those
students choosing business were in either the "same" or
"lower" groups. All of the "higher" group chose the pro
fessional and/or specialized technical fields.
These findings suggest that high ability junior
college students are in effect transfer students, planning
to continue college beyond junior college to obtain the
degrees considered necessary for technical or professional
careers. No major differences occurred among the groups
with respect to educational or occupational goals.
Socioeconomic Background
The occupational and educational levels of the
parents were used as the indices of socioeconomic back
ground for the students included in the study.
Only fourteen per cent of the fathers were em
ployed in occupations typed as semi-skilled or unskilled.
77
Twenty per cent were in technical or professional fields;
thirty-two per cent were business entrepreneurs or sales
men; and twenty-eight per cent held positions classified
as skilled. Similar distribution for occupation of father
occurred among the three groups.
The educational level of the fathers was that of
high school graduate or better in seventy-five per cent of
the cases. Twenty-four per cent of the fathers did not
complete high school; three per cent had only an elemen
tary school education and these were fathers of students
appearing in the "higher1 1 or "lower" groups. Twenty-one
per cent of the total fathers were found to be college
graduates. The distribution of educational level for
fathers was similar among the groups, except as noted
above.
Based on occupational and educational level of the
father, students in this study tended to come from homes
in which the father is at least a high school graduate
and employed in some type of skilled occupation. A third
of the students came from homes in which the father is
employed in business and in many cases he is either the
owner or manager. One-fifth of the group came from homes
in which the father by occupation and education is classi
fied as a professional man.
Half of the mothers of students in this study were
housewives and non-employed. Twenty per cent of the
78
working mothers were employed in semi-skilled or unskilled
jobs. Fifteen per cent were employed professionally,
usually as teachers. Twenty-five per cent were employed
in business as sales or managerial personnel and thirty-
eight per cent held skilled clerical positions.
Twelve per cent of the mothers were non-high
school graduates; forty-three per cent had had some col
lege experience, and thirty-two per cent of these held
college degrees. The mothers of the "same" and "lower"
group had attained higher levels of education than the
mothers in the "higher" group.
Based upon occupational and educational level of
the mother, students in this study tended to come from
homes in which the mothers WBre unemployed housewives or,
if employed, working in positions requiring some skills
reflective of their educational level.
Need for Financial Support
and Employment
On the questionnaire, students indicated the per
centage amount of self-support expected of them. Seventy-
two per cent of the total group responded that none or no
more than twenty-five per cent of self-support was ex
pected of them. Fifteen per cent were contributing to
their self-support and thirteen per cent of the students
replied that they were totally self-supporting. In the
latter number are included the married males. The "higher"
79
group contained the largest percentage of students claim
ing to be self-supporting, an expected finding since this
group did have the majority of older, married students.
The data on employment revealed that only six per
cent of the students were employed full-time; fifty-five
per cent were employed part-time. Thirty-nine per cent of
the students did not work while attending college. These
data suggested that even though some students declare a
need for total self-support they maintain themselves
during the college year through part-time employment.
The "higher" group had the greatest percentage of stu
dents who needed full or part-time employment.
On the basis of financial need and employment, it
appeared that the majority of the students in the study
did not need to work while attending college and that
when they did it was generally on a part-time basis.
Students in most cases appeared to obtain employment as
a matter of individual or family choice rather than for
reasons of financial necessity. The "same" and the
"lower" groups were similar in self-support and employ
ment patterns. Only the "higher" group differed on these
dimensions. Table 19 lists the findings reported for each
sub-group, for the total males and females, and for the
total group.
80
Table 19
RESPONSES ON THE QUESTIONNAIRE REPORTED IN
PERCENTAGES FOR EACH GROUP, WALES AND
FEMALES, AND FOR THE TOTAL GROUP3
Same Higher Lower T otal Group
f f l F M F M • F M F Total
1 . SEX 25 31 9 5 17 13 51 49 100
2. AGE
17-20 90 86 64 37 100 100 89 85 87
21-25 5 10 29 63 0 0 7 13 10
26-over 5 4 7 0 0 0 4 2 3
3. MARITAL STATUS
Single 97 96 64 37 96 95 91 90 91
Married 3 4 36 63 4 5 9 10 9
4. EDUCATIONAL
GOAL
Job 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 1 1
A.A. 2 26 0 12 7 9 4 21 12
B. A. 57 43 43 64 36 38 47 44 45
M.A. 28 31 28 12 29 48 28 33 31
Grad 11 0 28 12 25 0 19 1 10
Undecided 2 0 0 0 3 0 2 0 1
5. OCCUPATIONAL
GOAL
Business 20 12 0 0 0 19 10 13 11
T echnical 8 20 14 37 14 5 11 18 15
Profession 59 59 79 63 71 71 67 63 65
Undecided 13 8 7 0 14 5 12 6 9
6. FATHER *S
OCCUPATION
Professional 11 5 22 12 11 5 12 5 9
T echnical 8 14 14 0 11 9 10 11 11
Business Mgr. 23 14 14 0 7 6 16 10 13
Bus. Sales 23 18 14 37 18 14 20 20 19
Skilled 23 37 22 0 32 24 26 29 28
81
T able 19—Continued
Same
M F
Higher
I Y I F
Lower
m f
T otal
| Y l F
Croup
Total
Unskilled 2 4 0 25 3 14 2 9 6
Unknown 5 5 0 12 7 9 5 8 6
FATHER'S
EDUCATION
Elementary 0 0 14 0 7 5 5 1 3
Junior High 2 8 14 25 15 14 9 11 10
H.S. 10th 8 10 7 0 11 9 9 9 9
H.S. 11th 0 0 0 0 3 14 1 4 2
H.S. 12th 38 43 7 37 21 16 27 35 31
College 1 13 18 0 0 3 14 7 15 11
College 2 15 8 21 25 11 0 15 8 11
College 3 0 0 0 0 3 9 1 2 2
College 4 13 8 21 12 18 9 16 9 13
Graduate work 10 4 14 0 7 9 10 5 B
MOTHER 'S
OCCUPATION
Professional 3 4 0 0 7 5 4 4 4
T echnical 8 2 7 0 3 0 6 1 4
Business Mgr. 5 8 7 0 3 9 5 6 6
Bus. Employee 5 2 0 12 14 9 7 5 6
Skilled 23 22 14 26 14 14 19 21 19
Semi-Skilled 5 6 0 12 11 9 6 8 7
Unskilled 0 2 0 12 3 9 1 5 3
Housewife 51 53 71 38 43 44 52 49 50
Unknown 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
MOTHER'S
EDUCATION
Elementary 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Junior High 2 8 7 25 7 5 5 9 7
H.S. 10th 0 4 0 0 7 5 2 4
3
H.S. 11th 0 2 7 0 7 0 4 1 2
H.S. 12th 54 39 50 50 32 51 46 44 45
College 1 13 24 7 25 11 0 11 18 14
College 2 5 8 7 0 11 24 7 11 9
College 3 3 10 7 0 3 5 4 8 6
College 4 20 4 14 0 11 5 16 3 10
Graduate work 2 0 0 0 • 11 5 5 1 3
82
Table 19— Continued
Same
M F
Higher
M F
Lower
M F
T otal
M F
Group
Total
10. SELF-SUPPORT
0-25 per cent 72 81 36 63 72 88 65 80 72
26-50 per cent 18 14 14 25 14 6 16 14 15
51-100 per cent 10 5 50 12 14 6 19 6 13
11. EMPLOYMENT
None 41 45 14 75 21 48 30 49 39
Part-time 59 53 43 25 72 52 60 50 55
F ull-time 0 2 43 0 7 0 10 1 6
Percentages are reported to the nearest whole
number.
83
Motivational Factors Related
to CollBoe Attendance
Twenty-three statements were included in the ques
tionnaire to obtain information relative to attitudes
about college, grades, parental support, and the influence
from significant others in the formation of their educa
tional and vocational objectives.
The findings from the questionnaire revealed that
high ability junior college freshmen said that they have
always wanted to attend college, that they felt a college
education was necessary for them, and that they believed
they possessed the aptitude which would enable them to
graduate from college. Ninety per cent of the students
checked affirmatively statements indicating a predisposi
tion toward a college education.
Ninety-four per cent of the students said they
liked their major academic field which, as previously
noted, was pre-business, pre-technical, or pre-profes
sional. Since most of the students intended to continue
in senior colleges or universities, it is of interest to
find that seventy-seven per cent of them were satisfied
to be in the junior college for their first two years.
Of the twenty-three per cent preferring not to be in
junior college, the majority of these were male students
predominantly in the "lower" group.
With respect to parental support, it was found
84
that over eighty per cent of the students replied that
parents have wanted them to attend college and have urged
them to get an education. The small percentage of nega
tive responses occurred among the Females in all groups
and among the males in the "higher" group.
Attitudes toward grades and studying revealed that
high ability junior college freshmen felt that they rarely
worked to their capacity, and that they usually expected
the grades they received. They stated that they preferred
to earn high grades, A's rather than C's, and that good
grades earned them favorable peer recognition. The
majority of the students wished they would study more and
almost half of thB students were disappointed in their
college grade point averages, although they replied that
grades are no indicators of how much is really learned.
Of interest is the fact that very few females but over
sixty per cent of males stated that they had not always
done well in school.
Three statements were included in the study to
ascertain if students believed that their educational
and/or vocational objectives had been influenced by sig
nificant others in their lives. Two of the statements,
numbered 21 and 22, called for direct responses and the
last statement required a write-in answer. The findings
revealed that forty-seven per cent replied that a teacher
had influenced their educational or vocational objective.
85
These responses uiere distributed almost equally between
males and females and came almost exclusively From the
"same" and the "lower" groups.
To the statement about the influence from some
member of the family upon educational and vocational
goals, forty per cent replied in the affirmative. Again
the "yes" responses occurred in the "same" and "lower"
groups and were equally divided between the males and the
females.
Tor the open-ended statement, however, to which
eighty-four per cent of the students responded, persons
were mentioned in the categories of mother, father,
parents, teacher, counselor, spouse, relative, and others
unrelated to family or school.
In the total group, mother and teacher or coun
selor were named most frequently as the person having the
greatest influence on the lives of these students. Father
or some relative such as uncle, sister, brother, grand
parent were listed less frequently. Married students, as
could be expected, named the spouse as an important in
fluence.
The distribution of responses were similar through
out the groups. Of interest is the fact that for the fe
males, the mother ranked first in influence and teacher-
counselors were second; the reverse was true for the
males. The men most frequently named teacher or
86
counselor, followed by mother or father.
Distributed among the miscellaneous or "other" in
fluences were such names as Winston Churchill, John
Kennedy, Field Marshall Rommell, and the names of various
friends.
Table 20 lists the statements and the percentage
frequency of responses for the total group. Table 21
lists the percentage frequency of responses to the state
ments for each sub-group. Table 22 reports the percentage
frequency of responses for the open-ended statement,
appearing as item 23.
Summary
The findings derived from the brief questionnaire
revealed that high ability junior college freshmen have
educational and vocational objectives typical of transfer
students planning to continue education beyond the junior
college.
Socioeconomic factors derived from the occupa
tional and educational levels of parents indicated that
these students came from homes in which the philosophy
and goals of education seem to be valued. Parents were
urging them to get an education.
The students appeared to be strongly motivated
toward education and relatively realistic about their own
capacity to achieve commensurate with their potential.
87
Table 20
RESPONSES TO THE QUESTIONNAIRE
FOR THE TOTAL GROUP
Question
Percentage
Yes No
1. I have always wanted to attend college. 89 11
2. I like the major I am studying. 94 6
3. I usually get the grades I expect to get. 73 27
4. I usually work up to my capacity. 18 82
5. I have always done well in school. 57 43
6. I feel that a college education is
necessary for me. 95 5
7. I am reasonably certain that I have the
ability to graduate from college. 97 3
8. I have an intense desire to finish my
education. 80 20
9. I wish that I would study more. 83 17
10. I have only a mild desire to finish
college. 14 86
11. I feel my parents want me to go to
college. 90 10
12. My parents have urged me to get my
education. 81 19
13. My parents have at times been dis
appointed in my grades. 57 43
14. Getting good grades makes a student
unpopular with other students. 5 95
15. I would rather get a "C" in a subject and
have lots of fun times than get an "A"
with less time for fun. 14 86
15. My classmates look up to me in those
classes in which I do well. 73 27
88
Table 20--Continued
Percentage
Question Yes No
17. I am terribly disappointed in my over-all
college grade point average. 44 55
18. My brother and/or sister has/have done
much better in school than I. 28 72
19. I would rather be in a 4 year college or
university than in a 2 year junior
college. 23 77
20. Grades are no indicators of how much is
really learned. 45 55
21. Some teacher has strongly influenced my
educational or vocational objective. 47 53
22. Some member of my family has strongly
influenced my educational and/or
vocational objective. 40 60
89
Table 21
RESPONSES TO THE QUESTIONNAIRE
BY SUB-GROUP PERCENTAGES
G
Higher Same Lower
O
2
( 0
Males Females Males Females Males Females
Group
Total
Q )
3 Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No
1
79
21 100 0
87 13
90 10
93 7 91 9 89 11
2 92 8 100 0
92
8
95 5 89
11
95 5
94 6
3
86 14 88 12
72
28 92 8
50 50 48 52 73 27
4 21
79
62 38 13 87 29 71
0 100
9 91
18 82
5
14 86 50 50 36
64 82 18 54 46 76 24
57 43
6 100 0 88 12
97 3
94 6 96 4
95 5 95 5
7
100 0 100 0 100 0
95 5 96 4
95 5 97 3
8 86 14 88 12 72 28 78 22
93 7
76 24 80 20
9 79
21 50 50
82 18 82 18 96 4 86 14
83 17
10 0 100 12 88 18 82 18 82
7 93 19
81 14 86
11 92 8 50 50 100 0 84 16 96 4
91 9
90 10
12
57
43 62 38 92 8
69 31 96
4 86 24 81
19
13
86 14 38 62 64 36 39
61 61
39 67 33 57 43
14 0 100
25 75 3 97
6 94 0 100
5 95 5 95
15
86 14 0 100
23 77
10 90 18 82
9 91
14 86
16 64 36 50 50 67 33 71 29
82 18
91 9 73 27
17
28 72 0 100 56
44
39
61 46 54 57 43
44 56
18 28 72
0 100 41
59
8 92 36
64
52 48 28 72
19
28 72
12 88
23 77
8 92 43 57 33 67 23 77
20 43
57 25 75 49 51 47 53 39
61 52 48
45 55
21 43
57
88 12 44
56 53
47
43 57
62 38 47 53
22 28 72 38 62
33 67 37 63 50 50 52 48 40 60
Percentages are reported to the nearest whole number.
Table 22
RESPONSES TO QUESTIONNAIRE, ITEM 23a
Responses to
Item 23
Lower Same Higher
TVk+al
Grand
Male Female Total Male Female Total Male Female Total
iv/Xal
Males
lOTCLX
Females Total
Mother 32
34
33
16 28 21
7
12
9
20 27 24
Father 7 19
12
15
8 11 21 12 18 14 12
13
Both Parents
7 5
6
5
12
9 7
0
5
6
9
8
Teacher-Counselor 25 9 19
28 18 22 0 0 0 22 14 18
Family (other,
wife, husband)
7
14 10
3
8 6 30 38 31 9
12 10
Other 11
5
8 10 6 8 14 26 18 11 8
9
No one 11 9
10 20 20 20 14 12 14 16
17
16
Self 0
5
2
3
0
3 7
0
5
2 1 2
■ ■ — — ' ■ — ■ ■ — — . " " — '
■ ...
Total 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100
Percentages are reported to the nearest whole number*
vo
o
91
The men were particularly college-oriented and aware that
their past achievement may have been inconsistently repre
sentative of their aptitude potential. The women students
expressed enthusiasm for college attendance but indicated
lack of concomitant encouragement from parents.
Both men and women readily credited a family mem
ber or a school representative as a positive influence in
their lives. The mother or a teacher-counselor was cited
most frequently.
CHAPTER VI
FINDINGS FROM THE INTERVIEW
The purpose of this chapter is to report the
findings derived from the interview. Upon the comple
tion of the test battery, each student in the study was
interviewed and apprised of the test results. During the
interview, the student discussed academic status, educa
tional and vocational goals, and problems relevant to
academic and personal achievement.
The interview was employed to supplement the data-
gathering methods used in the study. Reasons for actions,
feelings, and attitudes were revealed in the discussion of
the test results and thereby additional information was
obtained about the student's insight into his own experi
ences.
The data collected for each student were available
during the interviews high school and first semester
junior college grade point averages, results of the tests
measuring study habits and attitudes, vocational interests,
and personality characteristics, and the responses to the
biographical questionnaire. At the conclusion of the
interview, the writer then predicted the second semester
92
93
junior college grade point average for each student* The
prediction of the second semester grade point average was
based upon the above information, influenced by the dis
cussion and observation occurring in the interview ses
sion*
The rationale for the prediction of thB next
semester grade average was the thought that an experi
enced counselor who had considerable data accumulated for
a student may be able to prognosticate future achievement
of the student with a fair degree of accuracy. Since the
prediction of second semester achievement occurred prior
to the statistical analysis of the assembled data, it was
felt that this procedure might show how the educational
counselor utilizes available information, somewhat as a
computer, to gain understanding about the relative in
fluence of many variables in human behavior.
At the end of the second semester, a comparison
was made of the correlations between actual and predicted
second semester grade point averages. Further comparisons
were made of the correlations between high school and
second semester junior college grades and between first
and second semester junior college averages. A multiple
correlation was obtained to indicate the relationship be
tween second semester junior college grade average and
high school and first semester averages taken together.
Since the data gathered by the interviewer included not
94
only aptitude and achievement records but also non-intel
lectual predictors assumed to be Factors in achievement,
the various comparisons of grade correlations were made
to see if considerable reliance in prognostication is
placed upon achievement records. Comparative correlations
are listed in TablB 23 for each sub-group, using the pre
dictors mentioned above.
The results indicated that the experienced inter
viewer was able to predict second semester junior college
grade point average with a fair degree of accuracy, but
the comparisons of grads point correlations suggested
considerable reliance on past achievement records. Im
plicit in prior achievement, however, is the influence
exerted by non-intellectual variables.
It appeared that the interviewer was able to pre
dict well for four groupings* the "sam^" the "higher,"
the total females, and the total group. Students in the
"same" group, the "higher" group, and the females revealed
traits of self-discipline, seriousness of purpose, ambi
tion, and an eagerness to assume adult roles. They had
reported moderately effective study habits and general
satisfaction with academic progress. They perceived
college as the necessary means to achieve a well-planned
vocational goal. It appears that these students are the
most predictable, and that an experienced interviewer can
make prognostications on these inidividuals with a good
Table 23
COMPARATIVE GRADE CORRELATIONS FOR EACH GROUPING
Groups
Correlation
between
HSGPA - 2nd JC
Correlation
between
1st JC - 2nd JC
Multiple
Correlation
HSGPA plus
1st JC - 2nd JC
Correlation
between 2nd JC
- Predicted JC
r r R r
Sams .62 .69 .69 .78
Higher .42 .80 .82 .82
Lower .61 .42 .60 .52
Total Males- .47 .66 .68 .64
Total Females .47 .51 .60 .79
Total Group .49 .59 .64 .71
C J l
96
degree of accuracy.
The predicted achievement for the "higher" group
was the same as that obtained from the multiple correla
tion of past achievement records. This "higher" group
possessed the strongest degree of achievement motivation
and verbalized intense personal resolution to succeed
academically. It would appear that an interviewer can
predict future achievement for this group very accurately
by relying heavily upon improved grade records and upon
those traits, reflective of intense academic motivation.
Students in the "lower" group and the total males
were less predictable; this fact suggests that for stu
dents so classified academic performance is less related
to aptitude than to non-intellectual variables. These
students seemed to be "persons-in-transition" (67»262,
281), striving for direction in personal goals, lacking
decisiveness, and in some cases revealing negative self-
concepts. Since all of these students possess the apti
tude for consistent academic success, the findings
suggest that these are the students who need maximum
counseling in the junior college. The achievement pat
terns of these students can be considered to be related
to personality organization. A counseling relationship
is needed to assist these students to see themselves in
perspective as developing persons engaged in activities
calculated to bring out their potential.
97
Summary
The interview was employed to supplement the data-
gathering methods used in the study and to obtain addi
tional information about the student's insight into his
own experiences.
The comparative correlations obtained by statis
tical means suggest that the interviewer not only relies
upon past achievement records in predicting future aca
demic performance but also relies upon other indices of
academic motivation in the area of non-intellectual
variables. Improved prediction, occurring as a result
of the interview, suggests that students in a face-to-
face relationship are willing to verbalize information
not readily obtainable from achievement records.
One general conclusion from the interview was
evident: students wanted to be apprised of the test
battery results and wanted to discuss feelings about
educational, personal, and vocational objectives. They
had come to the college for a purpose and appeared willing
to assimilate all kinds of new experiences within the
collegiate environment.
CHAPTER VII
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, IMPLICATIONS,
AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Summary
The purpose of this study uias to determine what
relationship exists between scholastic achievement and
selected non-intellectual Factors among a group of high
ability junior college freshmen. The factors considered
were those suggested by previous research to be predictive
of academic success in college.
A review of the literature revealed that in
addition to the usual achievement and aptitude indices,
personality traits, vocational motivation, study habits,
and certain biographical data are useful determiners of
academic achievement. The literature also indicated the
need to obtain qualitative information about students in
individual junior colleges and suggested that various sub
group populations be studied.
The study was conducted at Citrus College, a
publicly-supported junior college located in Azusa, Cali
fornia* The specific group studied was composed of fresh
men students who entered the college in the fall semester
98
99
of 1963 and 1964. The criteria For selection of the group
were aptitude scores from a standardized entrance examina
tion. Students whose obtained scores reached the seventy-
fifth percentile, national norms, were asked to partici
pate in the study. Participants in the study numbered
159. The students were classified into sub-groupings
according to high school and first semester junior college
grade point averagei a "same" group achieved in college
at the same academic level maintained in high school; a
"lower" group achieved at a lower level; and a "higher"
group improved their academic averages in junior college.
The general method used for the study was multiple
regression analysis of the results obtained from the ad
ministration of a test battery to junior college freshmen
selected by aptitude measures to be intellectually capable
of academic success in college. The test battery included
measures of study habits and attitudes, personality traits,
and vocational interests, and a biographical questionnaire.
The data from the test battery were coded and pre
pared for the IBM 1620 Computer. The statistical treat
ment was 6.0.043 multiple regression analysis program from
the IBM General Program Library. Separate analyses were
performed for each of the three sub-groupings, and, for
further comparative purposes, additional analyses were
performed for the total sample, for the total males, and
for the total females.
100
Findings
1• The analyses of the data indicated that high
ability junior college students did show evidence of
varying levels of academic achievement both in high school
and junior college and that the majority of the students,
fifty-five per cent of them, continued to achieve at an
academic level pre-established in high school,
2. A third of the students performed less satis
factorily and a small percentage of them showed improve
ment.
3. The contributions of non-intellectual vari
ables to achievement patterns changed under the conditions
of the sub-groupings.
4. In all cases except one, the strongest pre
dictor of first semester junior college achievement was
the high school grade point average.
5. Study habits and attitudes were significantly
related in four of the six groupings and intercorrelated
with selected personality characteristics.
6. Intensity of vocational interest did not
appear to be an important factor in the achievement pat
terns of high ability junior college students.
7. Several scales of the personality inventory
contributed a moderate amount of unique variance. Dif
ferent scales appeared in the analyses for each group.
These findings suggest that differential achievement can
101
be attributable to factors other than aptitude, uihen
aptitude is held constant.
8. The findings from the questionnaire suggested
that high ability junior college freshmen express educa
tional and vocational objectives typical of transfer
students planning to continue education beyond the junior
college.
9. Information related to the occupational and
educational levels of the parents suggested that the
majority of the students in the study came from homes in
which the goals of higher education are valued.
10. The students appeared to be strongly motivated
toward education and relatively realistic about their own
capacity to achieve commensurate with their academic
potential.
11. Students in the study readily credited a
family member or a school representative as having in
fluenced educational and vocational objectives.
12. The prediction of future academic achievement
by an experienced interviewer revealed that considerable
reliance is placed upon past achievement records as well
as upon other indices of academic motivation.
Conclusions
1. The achievement level of high ability junior
college students tends to be influenced by factors other
102
than academic potential# In a select group of able stu
dents, there is evidence of varying levels of academic
success, and there is a tendency for students to continue
patterns of academic achievement established prior to
junior college entrance. Pre-college and first semester
junior college grade comparisons indicate that junior
college freshmen whose predicted academic performance
place them in the top twenty-five per cent of the popula
tion do not generally perform at an expected superior
grade level; three-fourths of them are average students.
High ability junior college females consistently earn
higher grades than their male counterparts.
2. The high school grade point average is the
best single predictor of first semester junior college
achievement. Over half of the students persist at a
grade level pre-established in high school. The Brown-
Holtzmann Survey of Study Habits and Attitudes (SSHA)
appears to be a significant predictor and, coupled with
high school record, yields the best prediction of achieve
ment.
3. Intensity of vocational interest, measured by
the Strong Vocational Interest Blank (SVIB), does not seem
to be an influential factor in the achievement patterns
of able junior college freshmen. The fact that able
junior college students report broad and varied interests
tends to negate the influence of this variable in the
103
analysis of achievement patterns.
4* Several of the scales of the California Psy
chological Inventory (CPI) appear to be significantly
related to achievement. This fact suggests that this
instrument emphasizes the achievement-oriented dimensions
of personality and can be used effectively in conjunction
with other self-report measures in assessing influential
factors related to achievement patterning. Four CPI
scales delineate the successful achievement of high
ability students: tolerance, self-control, self-accept
ance, and achievement via independence.
5. The educational and vocational objectives of
high aptitude junior college freshmen are typical of
transfer students planning to continue education beyond
the junior college. These students emphasize the impor
tance of higher education and recognize that this value-
orientation was initiated in the home and further reen
forced in school by teachers and/or counselors.
Implications of the Study
The results of this study may be considered for
implications pertaining to counseling and curricular
practices.
If the junior college is to assist.in the national
effort to identify the intellectually superior student and
if the junior college can expect an increasing number of
1 04
high-ability students to attend the junior college (50s
314), the findings from this study suggest that such
students should be identified early and that counseling
and instructional efforts should be directed to assisting
those students who have achievement problems. Ability-
achievement discrepancies were evident in high school
records and continued in the majority of the cases in
junior college. The findings verify that scholastic
aptitude alone does not guarantee academic success.
The comparison of sub-group findings reenforces
the need for institutional study of the able learner.
Maintaining a distinction between intellective and non-
intellective factors as isolated variables doBs not
appear to be warranted. It becomes apparent that high
school grades are reflections of non-intellective factors
and appear also to be indices of important social vari
ables. Achievement seems to be an expression of the
student's choice and the patterns of choice are enduring
and do not undergo spontaneous change. Achievement
patterns are continuing ones and are representative of
the student's psychodynamic organization.
The non-intellective factors paftialled out in
the multiple regression design are multiply-related to
achievement patterning and probably should not be con
sidered solely predictors of behavior. Junior college
counselors find rather that these personality and
105
attitudinal traits are in effect "contingency" variables,
those, as noted by Fishman, which "intrude themselves
between predictors and criteria in ways that are not pre
dictable in the individual case at a given point in our
knowledge" (25»677). The implication for counseling is
that students should be seen as developing persons and
that changes in behavior can and do occur in the environ
mental transition from high school to college. Since the
junior college has a non-selective admissions policy, the
counseling and instructional concern should be for optimal
performance, not for exactitude in prediction.
The findings in the "higher" group suggest that
the non-intellective characteristics minimally operative
in high school undergo an individual modification and be
come more operative in the college environment. The
findings for the "lower" group suggest that this group
especially needs assistance if they are to maximize and
realize their academic potential. Individual and group
counseling with these students may help to induce de
velopmental personality changes and thereby help them in
the process of becoming competent self-directing adults.
The biographical data and the interview revealed
that these high aptitude students are, by socioeconomic
background and personal inclination, college-oriented.
They readily admit that school representatives have a
positive influence on their lives. This finding suggests
106
that the junior college must provide instructionally
challenging programs for this segment of its total hetero
geneous population, and still retain the unique features
of a multipurpose institution. Special group sections
allowing for student-faculty interaction can assist these
students to analyze qualitatively personal and vocational
goals for their maturity, interrelatedness, and philo
sophical content.
Recommendations
Recommendations for further research have already
been alluded to in this chapter. From the conclusions
and discussion cited above, it seems important that
junior colleges need to be aware of the differences among
the various sub-groups within a single campus. Much
attention has been directed to low ability students by
way of special guidance, special remediation, and special
curricular programs. However, it seems significant to
recommend that intellectually superior students should be
identified early in the freshman year and a cooperative
faculty-counseling experiment be developed whereby these
students also receive special attention. Ability-achieve-
ment discrepancies should be detected in the pre-admis
sions process by comparing high school records and
entrance aptitude measures. By early identification and
psychodynamic counseling, the tendency for students to
107
continue pre-established patterns may be redirected.
The findings of this study, limited in scope and
exploratory in nature, support the recommendation of the
California Coordinating Council for Higher Education that
because the interests and motivations of select groups of
superior ability junior college students are somewhat
different from those of their peers, they need an environ
ment which is concerned with their development as students,
and teachers who are committed to the task (1:17).
A second recommendation is to devise a research
model with evaluative properties which could assess the
developmental changes occurring after the early identifi
cation, guidance, and motivation of this sub-group of
talented students through cooperative efforts of faculty
and counselors.
A third recommendation is related to the education
of high ability junior college women. Women students who
express enthusiasm for college attendance but indicate
lack of concomitant encouragement from parents need
special assistance in the junior college environment to
optimize their capabilities and resolve constructively
the conflict arising from the cultural sex role, per
ceived as renouncing intellectuality in women.
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Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag education, educational psychology,OAI-PMH Harvest

Language English

Advisor Pullias, Earl Vivon (committee chair), Georgiades, William (committee member), Martin, David W. (committee member)

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c18-209073

Unique identifier UC11360108

Identifier 6607074.pdf (filename),usctheses-c18-209073 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier 6607074.pdf

Dmrecord 209073

Document Type Dissertation

Rights Kearney, Dorothy Lucille

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the au...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus, Los Angeles, California 90089, USA