1
Using Noncognitive Variables
with Freshman Athletes
Keith Eiche, William
Sedlacek,
and Javaune Adams-Gaston
University of Maryland,
College Park
This
study was done in cooperation with the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics
and the Counseling Center. Computer time was provided by Academic Information
Technology Services, all at the University of Maryland
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COUNSELING CENTER
UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND
COLLEGE PARK, MARYLAND
Keith Eiche, William
Sedlacek,
and Javaune Adams-Gaston
Research Report #7-97
SUMMARY
Freshman athletes are conceptualized
using a noncognitive framework. It is our contention that viewing college
athletes with a "noncognitive lens" is a novel way of gaining
information and making insights concerning this nontraditional student group. A
sample of freshman athletes responded to the Noncognitive Questionnaire (NCQ)
which yielded scores on 8 noncognitive variables.
Results indicated that 3 NCQ variables
(leadership, community involvement, and nontraditional knowledge) were
correlated with first semester grades of athletes. Furthermore, athletes scored
highest on realistic self-appraisal and leadership dimensions of the NCQ.
Suggested reasons for these findings include athletes are in an environment
heavily involved in self-evaluation as well as multiple opportunities for
leadership experience. Athletes scored lowest on preferring longrange goals to
short-term needs and understanding and dealing with racism. Hypotheses
offered for these results include that athletes are often encouraged to address
immediate needs as opposed to focusing on long-range planning (e.g. take
it one game at a time) and being stereotyped and experiencing prejudice.
These results were integrated with
possible teaching/advising approaches that may be useful in working with this
student population such as using athletes' self-evaluation skills as an
asset in advising situations and teaching athletes how to deal effectively with
a system that is not designed for them. This study provides evidence for the
usefulness of noncognitive variables in working with college athletes. This is
yet another perspective that advisors, faculty, and other college student
affairs professionals can use in deciding how to best meet the needs of this
nontraditional student population.
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Working
with diverse student groups is often a complex task given the great number of
distinct student groups on college campuses. Westbrook and Sedlacek (1991)
demonstrated the shift from using terms such as "culturally deprived"
to "multicultural" and "diversity" to describe different
student populations. Sedlacek (1993) goes further in defining students that
have unique experiences when compared to the "typical" student
population as nontraditional students.
Sedlacek
and Adams-Gaston (1992) proposed that student athletes can be
conceptualized as a nontraditional student group. Clearly, student-athletes
have different experiences from the "typical" student while sharing a
common culture among themselves. This culture is characterized by shared values
and philosophies created by being an athlete on campus. Thinking of college
athletes as a nontraditional group is further supported by the finding that
faculty and students tend to have negative stereotypes of student-athletes
(Engstrom & Sedlacek, 1991). Results of this study indicate that students
and faculty tend to think of student-athletes as a distinct group and
have strong feelings concerning how they think this group acts. This
discriminatory thinking based on group membership is similar to prejudice
experienced by other non-traditional groups embedded in a dominant
culture. Sedlacek (1996) asserted that for a group to be considered
nontraditional it must experience prejudice and noncognitive variables should
correlate with college success for the group. Noncognitive variables have been
shown to predict
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student grades as well as student retention for
nontraditional groups (Sedlacek, 1996). Sedlacek and Adams-Gaston (1992)
found that noncognitive variables are useful in predicting success for college
athletes. Given these findings, college athletes seem to compose a specific
segment of the college campus with distinct needs and goals and can be
conceptualized as a nontraditional group.
Studying
the unique aspects of college athletes seems important to being able to meet
the diverse needs of the campus as a whole. College athletes are
representatives of their school and they often influence public opinion
concerning their institution. College athletes are often the subject of intense
media scrutiny as well as a certain amount of scrutiny by administrators,
faculty, and students by virtue of being associated with the athletic program
(Attner, 1994; Telander, 1991). However, this attention does not often
translate to objective inquiry regarding athletes. Researchers, educators, and
student affairs professionals often have less experience relating
nontraditional students' experiences/knowledge to success in college since this
topic is often overlooked (Sedlacek, 1993).
The
"student" is many times overlooked in the term student-athlete.
Giving credence to athletes as students instead of being preoccupied with
physical performance is key to helping them achieve their educational goals.
The majority of college athletes, even the ones involved in revenue sports such
as football and basketball at large schools, will never be
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professional athletes. So how can we help student-athletes
be more successful on the college campus given their unique needs and
perspectives as nontraditional students ?
Sedlacek
(1993) cited numerous studies that provide evidence for the usefulness of
noncognitive variables in working with nontraditional student populations in
terms of admission, retention, and graduation rates (Arbona & Novy, 1990;
Tracey & Sedlacek, 1984). Sedlacek, using Sternberg's (1985, 1986) 3 part
definition of intelligence, noted that using noncognitive variables taps
experiential and contextual intelligence which is important in working with and
making decisions concerning nontraditional students. Nontraditional students
often have less stable contexts in which they operate. Therefore, gaining a
measure of one's ability to interpret information in a changing context (experiential
intelligence) and understanding and operating within a system (contextual
intelligence) can be useful in working with students who show their abilities
in these ways.
Conceptualizing
college athletes with a noncognitive framework can be a novel way of gaining
information and making insights concerning this nontraditional student group.
Sedlacek (1993) discussed the 8 noncognitive variables that can help explain
why students are successful on a college campus. These noncognitive variables
include: positive self-concept, realistic self-appraisal,
understands and deals with racism, prefers long-range goals to short-term
needs, availability of a. strong support person, successful leadership
experience, community involvement
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and knowledge acquired in a field.
The
purpose of the current study is to use Sedlacek's (1993) noncognitive variables
as a framework for describing student-athletes. This requires a paradigm shift
in terms of how we may think about college athletes. Identifying what makes
them unique as athletes on campus and placing those characteristics in the
context of a noncognitive model can aid the student affairs professional in
meeting athletes' needs. By forming a "profile" of how college
athletes score on noncognitive dimensions, more informed advising and teaching
can be conducted with these students. A secondary purpose of the current study
is to replicate Sedlacek and Adams-Gaston's (1992) findings that student
grade point average (GPA) was not correlated with SAT scores but was strongly
correlated with noncognitive variables for student athletes.
Participants
The
participants were 73 freshman athletes at a large midatlantic research
university with an NCAA Division I-A athletic program. There were 51
males and 22 females in the sample, and the ethnicity composition was 23%
African American, 30 Asian/Asian American, 68% White, 2% Hispanic, and 3%
Biracial. The sample represented both revenue (e.g. football) and nonrevenue
(e.g. tennis) sports. The study was done in cooperation with the university
athletic department.
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Instrumentation
The
participants responded to the Noncognitive Questionnaire (NCQ) which provides a
measure of noncognitive variables and consists of 29 items that are multiple
choice, Likert type, or open-ended in nature. Open-ended items were
rated and summed with the scores on the other items. (Tracey & Sedlacek,
1984). Previous estimates of test-retest reliability range from .70 to
.94 with a median of .85. Two independent raters rated the current data set and
found an interrater reliability of .92. Procedure
The
participants were informed of the nature and purpose of the study and told they
could withdraw their participation at any time. They were then asked to respond
to the questionnaire and returned them to the researcher. No participants
declined to participate in the study.
Table
1 shows the means, standard deviations, and correlations of NCQ scores with
first semester grades of the sample. These results are generally consistent
with the findings of Sedlacek and Adams-Gaston (1992) in that the student-athletes
scored highest on realistic self-appraisal and leadership and scored
lowest on long-term goals and understanding racism. Three of the NCQ
subscales (leadership experience, community involvement, and nontraditional
knowledge) were found to be moderately correlated with GPA beyond the .05
level. As in the Sedlacek and Adams-Gaston (1992) study, the student-athletes
in
8
the sample seemed similar to norm groups of Black
students on the NCQ with all means in the "average" range (Tracey
& Sedlacek, 1984) .
Table
2 shows the means, standard deviations and correlations of SAT scores with GPA.
The results of the current study are inconsistent with the previous findings
that SAT scores were not found to be significantly correlated with first
semester grades of student-athletes (Sedlacek & Adams-Gaston,
1992). This study found that SAT scores were moderately correlated with GPA
beyond the .05 level.
Using
Noncognitive variables as a way of conceptualizing student-athletes'
attitudes/experiences can be useful for educators, academic advisors, and
student affairs professionals in working with this nontraditional student
population. Scores on the NCQ are generally consistent with the findings of
previous research concerning college athletes (Sedlacek & Adams-Gaston,
1992). Exploring hypotheses concerning the noncognitive dimensions where the
student-athletes scored highest and lowest may deepen our understanding
of this population and provide evidence for program planning, evaluation, and
intervention Sedlacek, 1993).
Freshman athletes scored highest on both the realistic self-appraisal and leadership dimensions. The realistic self-appraisal dimension is characterized by the ability to recognize and accept deficiencies and works hard at self-development. In addition, it
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involves a need to broaden individuality. One
possible hypothesis for student-athletes scoring relatively high on
realistic self-appraisal compared to other NCQ scores may be from their
background in physical training/assessment. Perhaps student-athletes coming
from a culture based on how to assess physical performance may translate
assessment skills to other areas. Athletes have to constantly evaluate their
physical performance while obtaining feedback on progress towards their goals.
Using their assessment ability may aid them in realistically appraising
strengths and weaknesses in working on self-development
which may include academic performance and interpersonal skills.
This finding has implications for advising such students in that student-athletes may be open to constructive criticism more so than the "typical" student. This openness is a valuable strength in working with these students since improvement in any area cannot occur without being able to talk openly about deficits. In this way, whatever concern the student-athlete may bring can be assessed more openly and constructive action taken more quickly than with students with low realistic self-appraisal ability.
The student-athletes
also scored highly on successful leadership experience. This dimension involves
the having successes in engaging in meaningful leadership experiences pertinent
to an individual's background. A possibility for this finding could be that student-athletes
have more opportunities at being leaders in sporting activities. Leadership
tendencies may
10
thus be fostered through the athletic environment of
team/individual competition. Another alternative is that individuals with more
outgoing leadership tendencies may be drawn to athletics in general which may
set up student-athletes as being predisposed to excelling in leadership
skills/abilities.
In either case, the college athletes were found to
have definite strengths in leadership. These students may want to make a
difference on their campus which is beneficial in terms of this type of outlook
and commitment to their institution. However, this tendency can be taxing since
these students often take on multiple roles for which they may not have time.
Student-athletes may overcommit themselves in taking leadership roles on
campus which is important to consider for the faculty and staff who work with
this population.
The student-athletes scored lowest on preferring long-range goals to short-term needs. This noncognitive variable involves an individual's ability to defer gratification. A way to conceptualize the current findings in this dimension could be that student-athletes often deal with a variety of stressors and concerns that the typical student does not. For example, student-athletes must go to classes, do homework, and all the other expected activities of the role of student. Adding to that is the expectation of also being an athlete representing the institution and attending practices and participating in games. It is clear to see that many responsibilities compete for the student-athlete's attention and time.
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Maslow
(1954) asserts a Hierarchy of Needs that immediate needs in an individual's
environment such as food and shelter will be addressed before "higher
order" needs such as psychological well-being. From a hierarchy of
needs framework, it makes sense that student-athletes may be more
concerned with addressing more short-term needs (i.e. attending all
weekly practices on time or winning the next game) as opposed to long-term
goals (i.e. choosing a college major) given an environment filled with multiple demands. They may not have the experience in focusing on
long-term needs such as career planning. In the athletic culture,
athletes are encouraged to "focus on just the next game" or
"take it one game at a time". Therefore, short-term thinking is
reinforced while long-term planning is minimized or discouraged. When
planning interventions and programs for student-athletes it may be important
to include a justification for long-term goal planning and balancing long-term
goals with addressing short-term needs. Also, providing student-athletes
more support with satisfying short-term needs (such as time management or
financial expenses) may aid student-athletes in being able to tackle long-term
goals (such as career exploration).
The
sample had low scores on understanding and dealing with racism. This dimension
concerns a commitment to improving racist aspects of the existing system. This
includes not being submissive to existing wrongs, not hostile to society and
not withdrawing. This factor involves understanding the racist system
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and operating effectively within the system while
advocating for change.
Sedlacek
and Brooks (1976) defined racism as negative outcomes that accrue to members of
a certain group as a result of that membership apart from any other
considerations. Group membership can be based on variables other than race and
need not be chosen by the group member. Thus, athletes can experience racism
according to this definition. Furthermore, college athletes do experience
prejudice from faculty and other students (Engstrom & Sedlacek, 1991). As
discussed previously, this group is a nontraditional student group with special
needs and experiences that need to be respected. Part of these different
experiences include experiencing prejudice. Often athletes are subjected to
ambivalent opinions by faculty and students in that student-athletes are
often admired on campus for their athletic talent and having the opportunity in
representing the campus. However, this student group are also at times labeled
as "dumb jocks" inappropriately or blamed harshly for poor
performance on the field. It seems evident that many faculty and students often
have strong negative and strong positive opinions regarding student-athletes.
Sedlacek
(1993) recommended that programs teaching student-athletes how to operate in a
system not designed for them be implemented as well as programs to fight
stereotyping of student-athletes. Indeed, system negotiation may be fruitful
for working with student-athletes. Since our study indicates that the
13
student-athletes responded relatively low on
this dimension, instructing these students on how to function effectively in
the campus system while advocating assertively for changing existing
discrepancies may prove invaluable.
The
secondary purpose of the current study was to replicate the previous findings
of Sedlacek and Adams-Gaston (1992) that noncognitive variables were more
predictive of student-athletes' grades than SAT scores. The current
findings partially contradict Sedlacek and Adams-Gaston's findings.
Whereas SAT scores were previously only found to be weakly associated with GPA
(and not significant at the .05 level), the current study found that SAT was
moderately correlated with first semester grades (SAT Math r=.43 and SAT Verbal
r=.43, p<.05). However, as in the previous study by Sedlacek and Adams-Gaston
(1992), noncognitive variables were found to be significantly correlated with
GPA beyond the .05 level. These three variables were successful leadership
experience, community involvement, and nontraditional knowledge acquired in a
field. These variables are different for the most part from the noncognitive
variables (self-concept, realistic self-appraisal, available
support person, and community involvement) found by Sedlacek and Adams-Gaston
(1992) as being associated with first semester grades. Perhaps what is less
important is the specific noncognitive variables that were found to be
correlated with grades as the fact that noncognitive variables as measured by
the NCQ are correlated with grades and can be an alternative way of
conceptualizing factors associated
14
with student success.
The
current study's results were not as powerful as previous findings which pointed
to the clear advantage of using the NCQ in predicting academic success of
student-athletes as opposed to using SAT scores. However, the current
study does provide more evidence for the usefulness of using the NCQ in being
associated with first semester grades. Admissions personnel may want to
consider noncognitive variables as measured by the NCQ in addition to the SAT
in making admissions decisions particularly with student-athletes.
In summary,
based on the current results a "profile" for student-athletes
using a noncognitive framework may look something like the following. Student-athletes
have several strengths which include an ability to engage in realistic
self-appraisal and having successful leadership experiences. These students can
honestly assess their weaknesses making the possibility of improvement
increased. Drawing on leadership experiences can help student-athletes
get involved on campus and potentially be agents of change. Student-athletes
may tend to prefer addressing short-term needs than long-range goal
planning. These students deal with multiple demands which may serve to distract
and at times discourage. This population also seems somewhat lacking in
understanding and handling racism. Studentathletes may need education on how to
negotiate a system that is prejudiced and learning to identify and change
discrepancies assertively.
15
It is
important to note that the student-athletes in this study are freshmen
and may not necessarily reflect attitudes of student-athletes in their
second, third, or fourth years of school.
16
Arbona, C. & Novy, D. M. (1990).
Noncognitive dimensions as predictors of college success among Blacks, Mexican-American,
and White students. Journal of College Student Development, 31, 415-436.
Attner, P. (1994). A culture of
irresponsibility: On the issue of being role models, athletes have no choice
but to step up because, after all, the choice isn't theirs to make. Sporting
News, 217 (13), 12-17.
Engstom, C. M. & Sedlacek, W. E.
(1991). A study of prejudice toward university student-athletes. Journal
of Counseling and Development, 70, 189-193.
Maslow, A. H. (1954, reprinted 1970). Motivation
and Personality. New York: Harper & Row.
Sedlacek, W. E. (1993). Employing
noncognitive variables in the admission and retention of nontraditional
students. In Achieving diversity: Issues in the recruitment and retention of
traditionally underrepresented students (pp. 33-39). Alexandria, VA:
National Association of College Admission Counselors.
Sedlacek, W. E. (1996). An empirical
method of determining nontraditional group status. Measurement and
Evaluation in Counseling and Development, 28, 200-210.
Sedlacek, W. E., & Adams-Gaston,
J. (1992). Predicting the academic success of student-athletes using SAT
and noncognitive variables. Journal of Counseling and Development, 70, 724-727.
Sedlacek, W. E. & Brooks, G. C.,
Jr. (1976). Racism in American education: A model for change. Chicago:
Nelson-Hall, Inc.
Sternberg, R. J. (1985). Beyond 10. London:
Cambridge University Press.
Sternberg, R. J. (1986). What would
better intelligence tests look like? Measures in the College Admission
Process (pp. 146-150). New York: The College Entrance Examination
Board.
Telander, R. (1991). The wrong people
for the job: Why expect athletes to be role models when they could scarcely be
less suited to the task. Sports Illustrated, 75, 108.
Tracey, T. J. & Sedlacek, W. E.
(1984). Noncognitive variables in predicting academic success by race. Measurement
and Evaluation in Guidance, 16, 171-178.
17
Westbrook, F. D. & Sedlacek, W. E.
(1991). Forty years of using labels to communicate about nontraditional
students: Does it help or hurt? Journal of Counseling and Development, 70., 20-28.
|
Table 1: NCQ Means, Standard Deviations, and
Correlations with First Semester Grades |
|||
|
Variable |
Mean* |
SD |
r with GPA |
|
Self-Concept |
51 |
10 |
-0.01 |
|
Realistic Self Appraisal |
60 |
10 |
0.14 |
|
Understanding Racism |
44 |
10 |
-0.03 |
|
Long Range Goals |
42 |
10 |
0.14 |
|
Support Person |
51 |
10 |
-0.04 |
|
Leadership |
53 |
10 |
.31** |
|
Community Involvement |
45 |
10 |
.35** |
|
Nontraditional Knowledge |
50 |
10 |
.32** |
*T
Scores for NCQ means (Mean=50, SD=10) based on Black student norms in Tracey
& Sedlacek (1984) **Significant beyond .05
|
Table 2: SAT Means, Standard Deviations, and
Correlations with First Semester Grades |
|||
|
Variable |
Mean |
SD |
r with GPA |
|
SAT Math |
522 |
80 |
.43** |
|
SAT Verbal |
534 |
81 |
.43** |
**Significant
beyond .05