1. Indexes To Assess Social and Personal Development and the Impact of College. ASHE Annual Meeting Paper.
- Author
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Graham, Steve and Cockriel, Irv
- Abstract
In response to the growing public interest in seeing that higher education institutions address the personal development needs of students, this study evaluated the personal and social growth of college students and introduced an index of personal and social growth of college students. The study used the new American College Testing Program's College Outcomes Survey (COS) with a national sample of 9,400 undergraduate students to evaluate the effects of college on the personal and social self-concept of students. Indexes of personal growth were developed for each of 36 items from Section 2, Part D of the COS, as an indicator of "college effect" which considers the interaction of student growth and the college role in that development. Application of these indexes indicated that colleges had substantial impact on 28 of the 36 items. A factor analysis was conducted that identified four general factors: intra-personal development, personal valuing and moral development, social leadership and development, and civic involvement and awareness. Examining the broad categories of college impact on student development showed that the highest index value was in the area of intra-personal development. Includes three tables. (Contains 30 references.) (JB)
- Published
- 1995