PERSONALITY AND ACHIEVEMENT IN HIGHER EDUCATION PROFESSIONAL TRAINING

This investigation is particularly concerned with study habits and personality characteristics associated with under achievement and failure in professional training at the higher educational level. Data is presented on these characteristics for medical, teaching and planning students. Significant differences between the groups in terms of study habits and personality characteristics are discussed. Of considerable importance, however, was the finding that the characteristics of under-achievers in all three of these professional training courses showed a high degree of similarity. Difficulties are particularly likely to occur in all groups with students whose study habits are poor and where this is associated with either self conflict, social and inter-personal problems and anxiety, or with independent happy-go-lucky attitudes. The implications of this work for assisting students in training, and possibly for the selection of candidates, is briefly mentioned.