Divergent Thinking and Academic Performance of Students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Characteristics in Engineering

Autor/inn/en	Taylor, Christa L.; Esmaili Zaghi, Arash; Kaufman, James C.; Reis, Sally M.; Renzulli, Joseph S.
Titel	Divergent Thinking and Academic Performance of Students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Characteristics in Engineering
Quelle	In: Journal of Engineering Education, 109 (2020) 2, S.213-229 (17 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1069-4730
DOI	10.1002/jee.20310
Schlagwörter	Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder; Engineering Education; Student Characteristics; Academic Aptitude; Creativity; Creative Thinking; Academic Achievement; Predictor Variables; Undergraduate Students; Symptoms (Individual Disorders); Grade Point Average; SAT (College Admission Test) + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Ingenieurausbildung; Kreativität; Kreatives Denken; Schulleistung; Prädiktor; Psychiatrische Symptomatik
Abstract	Background: Creativity is increasingly recognized as an important skill for success in the field of engineering, but most traditional, post-secondary engineering education programs do not reward creative efforts. Failing to recognize creativity or creative efforts can have particularly negative effects for those students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), who may exhibit enhanced divergent thinking ability yet struggle in the traditional educational environment. Purpose/Hypothesis: This study was conducted to investigate how ADHD characteristics, academic aptitude, and one important component of creativity (divergent thinking) contribute to academic performance in engineering programs and how traditional markers of academic performance and ADHD characteristics predict divergent thinking. Design/Method: Undergraduate engineering students (n = 60) completed measures of ADHD symptoms and divergent thinking. Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores and grade point average (GPA) were collected from university records, and hypotheses were tested using a series of multivariate regression models. Results: Verbal SAT scores were the only positive predictor of overall GPA and engineering GPA. ADHD characteristics did not significantly predict overall GPA but negatively predicted engineering GPA. ADHD characteristics were the only positive predictor of divergent thinking ability. Conclusions: ADHD characteristics negatively predict academic performance (i.e., GPA) in engineering programs but are more predictive of divergent thinking ability than traditional markers of academic performance. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01