North Carolina State University
2005 First-Year Student Survey:
Gender and Racial/Ethnic Comparisons of
Goals for Undergraduate Education
This document reports gender and racial/ethnic differences in the respondents' mean rating of their current development of and importance given to general education, personal development, and world view goals. Frequency distributions of responses by gender and race/ethnicity are available in "2005 First Year Student Survey: Frequency Distributions of Survey Item #18 (Goals)." For information about the survey and analysis methods, see " 2005 First-Year Student Survey: Introduction, Methods, and Student Demographic Profile." Exact question wording is available on the web or by clicking on the "Q" next to the table heading.
| General Education Goals | Mean Rating Scale: 5="very high," 4="high," 3="average," 2="low," 1="very low" |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All | Women | Men | AfAm. | White | Other | |
| Broad general education | 3.61 | 3.69 | 3.56 | 3.83 | 3.58 | 3.65 |
| Communicate in writing | 3.26 | 3.36 | 3.18 | 3.54 | 3.23 | 3.24 |
| Communicate ideas orally | 3.41 | 3.43 | 3.39 | 3.64 | 3.39 | 3.36 |
| Good listening skills | 3.69 | 3.80 | 3.60 | 3.93 | 3.66 | 3.72 |
| Good reading comp. skills | 3.46 | 3.53 | 3.39 | 3.69 | 3.42 | 3.47 |
| Apply mathematics skills | 3.63 | 3.47 | 3.77 | 3.74 | 3.62 | 3.65 |
| Understand scientific influence | 3.53 | 3.34 | 3.68 | 3.68 | 3.50 | 3.62 |
| Apply scientific principles | 3.29 | 3.13 | 3.42 | 3.37 | 3.27 | 3.37 |
| Develop computer skills | 3.56 | 3.49 | 3.61 | 3.86 | 3.52 | 3.57 |
| Critically analyze info. | 3.55 | 3.58 | 3.53 | 3.74 | 3.53 | 3.52 |
| Plan/carry out project indep. | 3.66 | 3.82 | 3.53 | 3.81 | 3.64 | 3.63 |
| Understand diverse cultures | 3.55 | 3.71 | 3.42 | 4.07 | 3.43 | 3.97 |
| Personal Development Goals | Mean Rating Scale: 5="very high," 4="high," 3="average," 2="low," 1="very low" |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All | Women | Men | AfAm. | White | Other | |
| Taking responsibility for behavior | 4.14 | 4.30 | 4.00 | 4.48 | 4.10 | 4.07 |
| Learning as lifelong | 3.97 | 4.13 | 3.85 | 4.23 | 3.94 | 3.98 |
| Acting upon ethical principles | 3.88 | 4.02 | 3.77 | 4.13 | 3.85 | 3.88 |
| Improving leadership/management skills | 3.60 | 3.68 | 3.53 | 3.89 | 3.57 | 3.49 |
| Function as part of a team | 3.86 | 3.96 | 3.77 | 4.08 | 3.84 | 3.78 |
| Involved with public/community affairs | 3.32 | 3.52 | 3.15 | 3.63 | 3.28 | 3.33 |
| Understanding own abilities and interests | 3.78 | 3.84 | 3.72 | 4.07 | 3.75 | 3.74 |
| Commitment to health and fitness | 3.60 | 3.61 | 3.60 | 3.84 | 3.59 | 3.48 |
| Having self-confidence | 3.62 | 3.61 | 3.63 | 4.08 | 3.57 | 3.54 |
| Realizing my potential for success | 3.69 | 3.73 | 3.66 | 4.12 | 3.65 | 3.61 |
| Clarifying personal identity | 3.69 | 3.75 | 3.63 | 4.12 | 3.64 | 3.63 |
| Coping with change | 3.51 | 3.45 | 3.56 | 3.77 | 3.48 | 3.50 |
| Being independent and self-reliant | 3.80 | 3.86 | 3.76 | 4.01 | 3.79 | 3.71 |
| Handling stress | 3.40 | 3.21 | 3.56 | 3.69 | 3.37 | 3.38 |
| Managing my time | 3.31 | 3.40 | 3.23 | 3.48 | 3.30 | 3.24 |
| Having self-discipline | 3.69 | 3.76 | 3.64 | 4.00 | 3.66 | 3.67 |
| World View Goals | Mean Rating Scale: 5="very high," 4="high," 3="average," 2="low," 1="very low" |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All | Women | Men | AfAm. | White | Other | |
| World problems/issues | 3.41 | 3.37 | 3.45 | 3.71 | 3.36 | 3.52 |
| Present as it relates to history | 3.31 | 3.23 | 3.37 | 3.58 | 3.27 | 3.38 |
| Interact with diverse people | 3.81 | 3.94 | 3.70 | 4.27 | 3.73 | 4.01 |
| Appreciation of the arts | 3.44 | 3.61 | 3.31 | 3.73 | 3.39 | 3.56 |
| Tolerance for different views | 3.74 | 3.85 | 3.65 | 4.09 | 3.67 | 3.95 |
| Valuing gender equity | 4.10 | 4.28 | 3.96 | 4.49 | 4.04 | 4.18 |
| Valuing racial equity | 4.11 | 4.26 | 3.99 | 4.62 | 4.02 | 4.30 |
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Q Goal Importance
| General Education Goals | Mean Rating Scale: 5="very important," 4="important," 3="moderately important," 2="of limited importance," 1="not important" |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All | Women | Men | AfAm. | White | Other | |
| Broad general education | 4.28 | 4.44 | 4.15 | 4.52 | 4.25 | 4.31 |
| Communicate in writing | 3.98 | 4.20 | 3.79 | 4.39 | 3.91 | 4.08 |
| Communicate ideas orally | 4.26 | 4.42 | 4.14 | 4.60 | 4.22 | 4.33 |
| Good listening skills | 4.26 | 4.41 | 4.13 | 4.63 | 4.21 | 4.31 |
| Good reading comp. skills | 4.17 | 4.34 | 4.04 | 4.58 | 4.11 | 4.25 |
| Apply mathematics skills | 4.18 | 4.13 | 4.22 | 4.42 | 4.14 | 4.24 |
| Understand scientific influence | 4.01 | 3.94 | 4.07 | 4.22 | 3.98 | 4.01 |
| Apply scientific principles | 3.90 | 3.82 | 3.96 | 4.10 | 3.86 | 3.96 |
| Develop computer skills | 4.16 | 4.17 | 4.16 | 4.44 | 4.13 | 4.13 |
| Critically analyze info. | 4.16 | 4.24 | 4.10 | 4.38 | 4.12 | 4.26 |
| Plan/carry out project indep. | 4.32 | 4.47 | 4.20 | 4.48 | 4.29 | 4.37 |
| Understand diverse cultures | 4.05 | 4.29 | 3.84 | 4.57 | 3.96 | 4.22 |
| Personal Development Goals | Mean Rating Scale: 5="very important," 4="important," 3="moderately important," 2="of limited importance," 1="not important" |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All | Women | Men | AfAm. | White | Other | |
| Taking responsibility for behavior | 4.52 | 4.68 | 4.39 | 4.73 | 4.49 | 4.52 |
| Learing as lifelong | 4.30 | 4.46 | 4.16 | 4.58 | 4.26 | 4.26 |
| Acting upon ethical principles | 4.31 | 4.49 | 4.17 | 4.60 | 4.28 | 4.32 |
| Improving leadership/management skills | 4.35 | 4.47 | 4.25 | 4.63 | 4.31 | 4.36 |
| Function as part of a team | 4.33 | 4.45 | 4.23 | 4.58 | 4.30 | 4.30 |
| Involved with public/community affairs | 4.01 | 4.23 | 3.83 | 4.43 | 3.95 | 4.04 |
| Understanding own abilities and interests | 4.39 | 4.57 | 4.25 | 4.69 | 4.36 | 4.37 |
| Commitment to health and fitness | 4.34 | 4.49 | 4.23 | 4.52 | 4.32 | 4.33 |
| Having self-confidence | 4.47 | 4.63 | 4.33 | 4.74 | 4.44 | 4.45 |
| Realizing my potential for success | 4.41 | 4.57 | 4.28 | 4.70 | 4.38 | 4.37 |
| Clarifying personal identity | 4.29 | 4.52 | 4.10 | 4.63 | 4.25 | 4.26 |
| Coping with change | 4.28 | 4.48 | 4.11 | 4.55 | 4.25 | 4.22 |
| Being independent and self-reliant | 4.45 | 4.61 | 4.32 | 4.62 | 4.42 | 4.48 |
| Handling stress | 4.41 | 4.60 | 4.25 | 4.58 | 4.39 | 4.41 |
| Managing my time | 4.54 | 4.70 | 4.40 | 4.73 | 4.51 | 4.54 |
| Having self-discipline | 4.49 | 4.63 | 4.37 | 4.72 | 4.46 | 4.48 |
| World View Goals | Mean Rating Scale: 5="very important," 4="important," 3="moderately important," 2="of limited importance," 1="not important" |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All | Women | Men | AfAm. | White | Other | |
| World problems/issues | 4.22 | 4.37 | 4.09 | 4.46 | 4.18 | 4.24 |
| Present as it relates to history | 3.96 | 4.05 | 3.89 | 4.27 | 3.92 | 4.01 |
| Interact with diverse people | 4.29 | 4.50 | 4.12 | 4.71 | 4.23 | 4.37 |
| Appreciation of the arts | 3.87 | 4.08 | 3.69 | 4.17 | 3.83 | 3.89 |
| Tolerance for different views | 4.26 | 4.47 | 4.09 | 4.62 | 4.21 | 4.32 |
| Valuing gender equity | 4.33 | 4.55 | 4.16 | 4.69 | 4.28 | 4.40 |
| Valuing racial equity | 4.36 | 4.55 | 4.20 | 4.80 | 4.29 | 4.49 |
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Scatterplots: Comparisons of Goal Ratings
Scatterplot Comparing Goal Development and Goal Importance Ratings (All Respondents)
| 1 Taking responsibility for behavior | 19 Commitment to health and fitness |
|---|---|
| 2 Valuing racial equity | 20 Improving leadership/management skills |
| 3 Valuing gender equity | 21 Develop computer skills |
| 4 Learning as a lifelong process | 22 Critically analyze information |
| 5 Recognizing/acting upon ethical principles | 23 Understand diverse cultures/values |
| 6 Function as part of a team | 24 Understand influence of science/technology |
| 7 Interact with diverse people | 25 Coping with change |
| 8 Being independent and self-reliant | 26 Good reading comprehension |
| 9 Understanding own abilities and interests | 27 Appreciation of arts/music/literature |
| 10 Tolerance for different views | 28 Understanding world problems/issues |
| 11 Having self-discipline | 29 Communicate ideas orally |
| 12 Good listening skills | 30 Handling stress |
| 13 Realizing my potential for success | 31 Involvement in public/community affairs |
| 14 Clarifying personal identity | 32 Present as it relates to history |
| 15 Plan/carry out projects independently | 33 Time management |
| 16 Apply mathematics skills | 34 Apply scientific principles |
| 17 Having self-confidence | 35 Communicate ideas in writing |
| 18 Broad general education |
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Scatterplot Comparing Goal Development and Goal Importance Ratings (By Gender)
| 1 Taking responsibility for behavior | 19 Commitment to health and fitness |
|---|---|
| 2 Valuing racial equity | 20 Improving leadership/management skills |
| 3 Valuing gender equity | 21 Develop computer skills |
| 4 Learning as a lifelong process | 22 Critically analyze information |
| 5 Recognizing/acting upon ethical principles | 23 Understand diverse cultures/values |
| 6 Function as part of a team | 24 Understand influence of science/technology |
| 7 Interact with diverse people | 25 Coping with change |
| 8 Being independent and self-reliant | 26 Good reading comprehension |
| 9 Understanding own abilities and interests | 27 Appreciation of arts/music/literature |
| 10 Tolerance for different views | 28 Understanding world problems/issues |
| 11 Having self-discipline | 29 Communicate ideas orally |
| 12 Good listening skills | 30 Handling stress |
| 13 Realizing my potential for success | 31 Involvement in public/community affairs |
| 14 Clarifying personal identity | 32 Present as it relates to history |
| 15 Plan/carry out projects independently | 33 Time management |
| 16 Apply mathematics skills | 34 Apply scientific principles |
| 17 Having self-confidence | 35 Communicate ideas in writing |
| 18 Broad general education |
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Scatterplot Comparing Goal Development and Goal Importance Ratings (By Race)
| 1 Taking responsibility for behavior | 19 Commitment to health and fitness |
|---|---|
| 2 Valuing racial equity | 20 Improving leadership/management skills |
| 3 Valuing gender equity | 21 Develop computer skills |
| 4 Learning as a lifelong process | 22 Critically analyze information |
| 5 Recognizing/acting upon ethical principles | 23 Understand diverse cultures/values |
| 6 Function as part of a team | 24 Understand influence of science/technology |
| 7 Interact with diverse people | 25 Coping with change |
| 8 Being independent and self-reliant | 26 Good reading comprehension |
| 9 Understanding own abilities and interests | 27 Appreciation of arts/music/literature |
| 10 Tolerance for different views | 28 Understanding world problems/issues |
| 11 Having self-discipline | 29 Communicate ideas orally |
| 12 Good listening skills | 30 Handling stress |
| 13 Realizing my potential for success | 31 Involvement in public/community affairs |
| 14 Clarifying personal identity | 32 Present as it relates to history |
| 15 Plan/carry out projects independently | 33 Time management |
| 16 Apply mathematics skills | 34 Apply scientific principles |
| 17 Having self-confidence | 35 Communicate ideas in writing |
| 18 Broad general education |
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Dr. Nancy Whelchel, Associate Director for Survey Research
Office of Institutional Planning and Research
Box 7002
NCSU
Phone: (919) 515-4184
Email: Nancy_Whelchel@ncsu.edu
Posted: February, 2007
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