A comparison of expressed/inventoried major/career choices and study habits on the academic performance of selected college freshmen, 1990
Lyle, Lauretta S.
1990-05-01
1990-1999
Many reasons have been given for students experiencing difficulties in selecting their undergraduate majors and careers. Some suggest that the resulting indecision leads to low academic performance. Few counseling models, utilize non-cognitive variables for addressing the concern. The need for a resolution to this problem provided the rationale for this study. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to investigate major/career choices and study habits as prospective components for a counseling model. Data were collected on 231 college freshmen using an Ex Post Facto research design. The data included demographic information, expressed and inventoried career choices and scores from the Strong-Campbell Interest Inventory (SCII). Study habits and attitude scores were obtained from the Survey of Study Habits and Attitudes (SSHA). Cumulative grade point averages (G.P.A.s) for the students were analyzed subsequent to three years of matriculation. Nominal data were collected and analyzed by percentile distribution. Statistical analyses utilized measures of central tendency, Correlation, Stepwise Multiple Regression and t-Tests. Findings from this study support previous reserch that suggests that many non-cognitive, non- traditional variables predict academic performance. Major/career inconsistency was predictive for students with low G.P.A.s. Thus, counseling and training models which include major/career goal exploration may increase the academic performance for these students. Also, results suggest that major/career choices are more predictive of academic performance than study habits. Future studies could evaluate the model developed through this research, which included major/career goal exploration as a component. It is further suggested that future studies include a larger and more diversified population from colleges and universities representing a more widely dispersed geographical area.
text
application/pdf
dissertation
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Clark Atlanta University
Department of Counseling and Human Development
Rudolph V. Green
Georgia--Atlanta
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12322/cau.td:1990_lyle_lauretta_s
http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-EDU/1.0/
