Predicting Undergraduate Leadership Student Goal Orientation Using Personality Traits

Finding strategies to increase the motivation of students, their connection with the material, and retention of the content, has been very important within leadership education. Previous research studies have shown that personality traits can predict desired outcomes, including goal orientation or motivational disposition. However, there have not been any studies which have specifically analyzed how personality predicts goal orientation in undergraduate leadership students. The results of this study found that between 15% and 28% of the variance in goal orientation dispositions was predicted by personality factors, confirming the predictive nature of the relationship. Based on the observed results leadership educators are recommended to include personality and goal orientation discussions into their leadership curriculum and to create a learning environment that accommodates all learners.