Performance correlates of spiritual
expression and spiritual development
Ronald Miller
William Neal
Clayton Hubner
Amber Hanza
Kelsey Olds
Keitaro Yoshida
Kin Yu Au
Yan Yan Ho
BYU-Hawaii

Mission to serve Asia and the Pacific

A highly multi-cultural environment

48% are international students

International students are from all educational and
economical background

Participation in NSSE since 2002
National Survey of Student Engagement
(NSSE)

“The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) is
designed to obtain, on an annual basis, information from scores
of colleges and universities nationwide about student
participation in programs and activities that institutions provide
for their learning and personal development.”
-National Survey of Student Engagement
BYU-H Spirituality

BYU-H Spirituality 04-05 NSSE Scores

Comparison with scores of
 Bac-Gen (Baccalaureate–General)
 Students in undergraduate programs
 National
 Students in both undergraduate and postgraduate
programs
Benchmark Comparisons
First-Year Students
Senior Students
4
BYU-H
Bac-Gen
NSSE
3.5
3
4
BYUH
Bac-Gen
NSSE
3.5
3
2.5
2.5
2
2
1.5
1.5
1
1
0.5
0.5
0
0
2004
2005
2004
2005
Both first-year and Senior BYU-Hawaii students ranked generally higher on levels
of spirituality than comparable institutions and the national average in both 2004
and 2005.
Past studies

Spirituality...can create a campus environments that supports and enhances
the sense of wholeness, connection, and community for students, faculty
and staff. (Rogers & Dantley, 2001)

“The graduates of the nation’s religious colleges are quite distinctive
from their secular counterparts…They study hard, leaving little time for
sitting in or walking out.” (Riley, 2003)

The study done by Hugo (2000) showed that spiritual well being (ß = .54)
and hardiness (ß = 1.38) are strong predictors of self-esteem (P<.01).

Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA examined the spiritual
development of undergraduate students during their college career. “They
(Mormon students) received the highest scores of all groups on five of the
12 measures: Religious Commitment, Religious Engagement,
Religious/Social Conservatism, Spirituality, and Equanimity.” (Astin, A. W.,
Astin, H. S., Lindholm, Bryant, Calderone, & Szelenyi, 2003)
Research Questions

Do BYU-H students arrive on campus being
spiritual or do they become more spiritual
during their college experience?

How does spirituality affect students’
performance?

What are the effect moderators (co-variates)?
Hypotheses
Hypothesis 1
 Senior students score higher on deepened sense of spirituality than do FirstYear students because BYU-Hawaii students reported a higher sense of
spirituality than do students from comparable institutions and the NSSE
national average. If students consider the institution a major contributor to
their spiritual development, the institutional environment should be more
spiritual as a whole. Thus, the highly spiritual environment should
influence students’ spirituality over time.
Hypothesis 2
 Regardless of the degree of spirituality at the time of students’ first arrival
on campus, all students will show an increase in spiritual development as
the institution’s environment is highly spiritual.
Hypothesis 3
 Higher spirituality correlates with positive academic outcomes and has a
positive influence on student life because spirituality seems to contribute to
the welfare of student in general as shown in the past literature on
spirituality.
Participants

Brigham Young University-Hawaii students

410 First-Year students

247 Senior students
NSSE Spirituality items

Analyze 2004-2005 National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE)
data.
The NSSE Spirituality items were as follows:
1. During the current school year, about how often have you done each of
the following?

Students were asked to rate how often they participated in
activities to enhance their spirituality.
1-Never, 2-Sometimes, 3-Often, 4-Very Often
2. To what extent has your experience at this institution contributed to
your knowledge, skills, and personal development in the following
areas?

Developing a deepened sense of spirituality
1-Very little, 2-Some, 3-Quite a bit, 4-Very much
Research Question and Hypothesis
Research Question

Do BYU-H students arrive on campus being spiritual or do they become
more spiritual during their college experience?
Hypothesis 1

Senior students score higher on deepened sense of spirituality than do
First-Year students because BYU-Hawaii students reported a higher
sense of spirituality than do students from comparable institutions and
the NSSE national average. If more students consider that the institution
contributes to their spiritual development compared to student at other
institutions, the environment at the institution should be more spiritual as
a whole than other institutions. Thus, the highly spiritual environment
should influence students’ spirituality over time.
Analysis

T-test on developed deepened sense of
spirituality


Between First-Year and Senior students
T-test on attending worship services

Between First-Year and Senior students
The difference between First-Year and Senior
Students in spirituality
Students were asked to rate to what extent their experience at this institution has contributed to their knowledge,
skills, and personal development in the following area:
Developing a deepened sense of spirituality
1-Very little, 2-Some, 3-Quite a bit, 4-Very much
3.4
*
3.3
First-Year
Senior
3.2
3.1
3
*Significant at .01 level.
Spirituality
It was found that Seniors rated themselves significantly higher than First-Year students
in terms of developing a deepened sense of spirituality.
The difference between First-Year and Senior
Students in spirituality (cont.)
Students were asked about how often they have done each of the following during the current school year.
Participated in activities to enhance your spirituality
(worship, meditation, prayer, etc.)
1=Never, 2=Sometimes, 3=Often, 4=Very often
3.7
*
3.6
3.5
3.4
First-Year
Senior
3.3
3.2
*Significant at .01 level.
3.1
3
Worship
Senior students report significantly more frequent participation in worship services
than do First-Year students.
The difference between First-Year and Senior
Students in spirituality (cont.)
2004
2005
4
First-Year
Senior
3.5
4
First-Year
Senior
3.5
3
3
2.5
2.5
2
2
1.5
1.5
1
1
0.5
0.5
0
0
BYU-H
Bac-Gen
NSSE
BYU-H
Bac-Gen
NSSE
In comparing First-Year to Senior year in both 2004 and 2005, student’s ratings on
their sense of spirituality increases at BYU-Hawaii. In contrast, ratings from
comparable institutions and the NSSE average show a decrease in terms of their sense
of spirituality.
Discussion on the difference between First-Year
and Senior Students in spirituality

T-test results show that Senior students have a higher sense of
spirituality than do First-Year students. This suggests that students
improve over time in terms of spirituality.

A comparison with the national average shows that students come to
BYU-H with a high level of spirituality. However, students at BYUH develop an even higher level of spirituality over time while
students at comparable institutions in general show a slight decrease
from their First-Year to Senior year.
Discussion on the difference between First-Year
and Senior Students in spirituality (cont.)

This implies that a highly spiritual campus environment
does influence the development of spirituality of
students at the institution.
“This is like a greenhouse kind of place; it is protected.
Worldly things do not affect us in ways that do other
schools. If students spend four years here and they are
in an environment where spiritual growth is
encouraged, supported and facilitated, [there is a]
strong social support [for spiritual growth] .”
-2006 Focus Group Member
Research Question and Hypothesis
Research Question

Do BYU-H students arrive on campus being
spiritual or do they become more spiritual during
their college experience?
Hypothesis 2

Regardless of the degree of spirituality at the time
of students’ first arrival on campus, all students will
show an increase in spiritual development if the
institution’s environment is highly spiritual.
Analysis

Two-way ANOVA


On the differences between

Ethnicity

Class rank

Interaction between ethnicity and class rank
In terms of deepened sense of spirituality
The difference between Ethnicity and Class
Rank in Spirituality
3.5
First-Year
3.3
Senior
3.1
*
2.9
2.7
Caucasian/Non
Hispanic
Pacific Islander
Asian/Oriental
* Significant at .01 level.
Although First-Year Asian students scored significantly lower than all
the other groups of students in terms of deepened sense of spirituality,
Senior Asian students show as high a level of deepened sense of
spirituality as Caucasian and Pacific Islander Senior students.
Discussion on the difference between ethnicity
and class rank in spirituality

ANOVA results show that

First-Year Asian students scored significantly lower than Senior Asian, both First-year and
Senior Caucasian and Pacific Islander students.

Senior Asian students rank as high as Caucasian and Pacific Islander students in terms of
the deepened sense of spirituality

Caucasian and Pacific Islander Senior students report no significant increase in the
deepened sense of spirituality compared to their First-year students

These results do not support our hypothesis because only students with relatively
low sense of spirituality at the time of their arrival show significant increase in their
sense of spirituality

However, these results suggest that a highly spiritual campus environment does
influence students, especially those who enter the university with a relatively low
sense of spirituality
“It seems you cannot escape spiritual growth here.”
-2006 Focus Group Member
Research Question and Hypothesis
Research Question


How does spirituality affect students’ performance?
What are the effect moderators (co-variates)?
Hypothesis 3

Higher spirituality correlates with positive academic
outcomes and positive influence in students’ life because
spirituality seems to contribute to the welfare of student in
general as shown in the past literature on spirituality.
Analysis on Hypothesis 3
Part I: Spirituality and academic outcomes
Part II: Spirituality and student life
Part III: Implication of spirituality on students’ life
• Relationship with others
• Personal growth
Analysis on Hypothesis 3 (cont.)
Part I: Spirituality and academic outcomes

Correlation


Between deepened sense of spirituality/attending worship
service, and coming to class prepared
Between deepened sense of spirituality/attending
worship service and GPA
Results on the Correlation between spirituality and
academic outcomes

Correlation
 Coming to class prepared

With spirituality


With worship


r = .0, p > .10
r = .19, p > .10
GPA

With spirituality


r = -.005, p > .10
With worship

r = .14, p < .01
Discussion on correlation between spirituality and
academic outcomes

Although the major religion at the institution emphasizes
preparation and diligence, higher sense of spirituality did
not correlate with preparedness nor better academic
outcomes.

The following analyses on spirituality and students’ life
helps answer why spirituality does not correlate with
better academic outcomes.
Analysis on Hypothesis 3
Part II: Spirituality and Students’ Life

Correlation

Between spirituality/attending worship service
and extracurricular activities

Participation in physical activities

Attendance to art exhibits etc.

Giving tutoring to other students

Volunteering
Results on Correlation between Spirituality and
Extracurricular activities

Participation in physical activities




With Spirituality
With worship service
: r = .17, p < .01
: r = .28, p < .01
Giving tutoring to other students



: r = .10, p < .01
: r = .31, p < .01
Attendance to art exhibits etc.


With Spirituality
With worship service
With Spirituality
With worship service
: r = .17, p < .05
: r = .10, p < .05
Volunteering


With Spirituality
With worship service
: r = .22, p < .01
: r = .33, p < .01
Discussion on Correlation between Spirituality and
Extracurricular Activities

All of these extracurricular activities are correlated
with spirituality items.

This may imply that those students who have a higher
sense of spirituality also have a sense of balanced
work. They do not focus merely on academic studies.

This may be one of the reasons why higher
spirituality does not correlate with better academic
outcomes.
Analysis on Hypothesis 3
Part III: Implication of spirituality on students’ life
Relationships with others

Correlation

Between deepened sense of spirituality/attending worship
service and relationship with:

Other students

Faculty

Administrative Personnel and Officers
Results on Correlation between Spirituality and
Relationship with Others

Correlation

Deepened sense of spirituality with:

Relationship with Other students


Relationship with Faculty


r = .36, p < .01
r = .41, p < .01
Relationship with Administrative Personnel and Officers

r = .35, p < .01
Discussion on Correlation between Spirituality and
Relationship with Others

It was found that a deepened sense of spirituality
significantly correlated with relationships with
other students, with faculty members, and
administrative personnel and officers

This result suggests that spirituality in general
contributes to the development of better
relationships with other people
Analysis on Hypothesis 3
Part III: Implication of spirituality on students’ life
Personal Growth

Correlation
 Between spirituality/attending worship service and
outcomes on personal growth
Students were asked to what extent has their experience at the
institution contributed to their knowledge, skills, and personal
development in the following areas:
 Understanding yourself
 Acquiring a broad general education
 Acquiring job or work-related knowledge and skills
 Developing a personal code of values and ethics
 Contributing to the welfare of your community
 If you could start over again, would you go to the same
institution you are now attending?
Results on Correlation between Spirituality and
Personal Growth

Correlation

Between spirituality/attending worship service and :

Understanding yourself






With spirituality
With worship
: r = .25, p < .01
: r = .28, p < .01
With spirituality
With worship
: r = .54, p < .01
: r = .30, p < .01
Contributing to the welfare of your community



: r = .46, p < .01
: r = .26, p < .05
Developing a personal code of values and ethics


With spirituality
With worship
Acquiring job or work-related knowledge and skills


: r = .40, p < .01
: r = .21, p < .01
Acquiring a broad general education


With spirituality
With worship
With spirituality
With worship
: r = .38, p < .01
: r = .28, p < .01
If you could start over again, would you go to the same institution you are now
attending?


With spirituality
With worship
: r = .40, p < .01
: r = .40, p < .01
Discussion on Correlation between Spirituality and
Personal Growth


All of these personal development items are correlated with
spirituality. Therefore, students with higher spirituality tend to
acquire more knowledge, skills, and increase in personal
development
In addition, they are more satisfied with their educational
experience at their institution than do other students
“I think BYU-Hawaii’s spiritual environment really makes a
difference in my education, career and personal goals,
because before I came here I thought I would be satisfied with
a bachelor’s degree, but now I want to continue. I want to go
to graduate school…”
-2006 Focus Group Response
Additional Analysis

Result :


Result :


Asian students reported significant increase in spirituality from Firstyear to Senior year while Caucasians and Pacific Islanders did not.
Spirituality correlates with student life outcomes.
Question:

Did Asian students report significant increase in student life outcome
variables? What about Caucasians and Pacific Islanders?
The Differences between First-Year and Senior
Asian Students in Personal Growth
Understanding yourself
1=Very much, 2=Quite a bit, 3=Some, 4=Very little
3.4
3.3
*
Acquiring a broad general education
1=Very much, 2=Quite a bit, 3=Some, 4=Very little
First-Year
Senior
3.4
3.3
3.2
3.2
3.1
3.1
3
3
2.9
2.9
2.8
2.8
Understanding yourself
*Significant at .01 level.
*
Acquiring a broad general education
It was found that Senior Asian students rated themselves significantly higher than
First-Year Asian students in both areas.
The Differences between First-Year and Senior
Asian Students in Personal Growth (cont.)
Acquiring job or work-related knowledge and skills
4=Very much, 3=Quite a bit, 2=Some, 1=Very little
3.4
First-Year
Senior
3.3
3.2
3.1
Developing a personal code of values and ethics
4=Very much, 3=Quite a bit, 2=Some, 1=Very little
*
3.4
3.3
3.2
3.1
3
3
2.9
2.9
2.8
2.8
Acquiring job or work-related
knowledge and skills
*
*Significant at .05 level.
Developing a personal code of
values and ethics
It was found that Senior Asian students rated themselves significantly higher than
First-Year Asian students in both areas.
Difference between First-Year and Senior Asian
Students in Personal Growth (cont.)
Contributing to the welfare of your community
4=Very much, 3=Quite a bit, 2=Some, 1=Very little
3.4
3.3
3.2
*
If you could start over again, would you go to the same institution
you are now attending?
4=Definitely yes, 3=Probably yes, 2=Probably no, 1=Definitely no
First-Year
Senior
3.6
3.5
3.4
3.1
3.3
3
3.2
2.9
3.1
2.8
Contributing to the welfare of
your community
*
3
*Significant at .01 level.
Same institution
It was found that Senior Asian students rated themselves significantly higher than
First-Year Asian students.
Discussion on the difference in personal growth

The t-test shows that Senior Asian students report significant
increases compared to First-year Asian students in the following
areas:






Understanding yourself
Acquiring a broad general education
Acquiring job or work-related knowledge and skills
Developing a personal code of values and ethics
Contributing to the welfare of your community
If you could start over again, would you go to the same institution
you are now attending?

However, when we ran the same t-tests on the difference between
First-year and Senior students for both Caucasians and Pacific
Islanders, there was no significant increase in these areas as their
sense of spirituality does not increase over the same period.

Therefore, the increase in spirituality does contribute to the increase
in student life outcomes.
Discussion on the difference in personal growth
(cont.)

Based on these correlation and t-test results, we conclude that
spirituality helps students enrich their educational experience
personal life experience and consequently better prepare them for
life beyond university studies
“ [My experience here at BYU-Hawaii], particularly in how people
treat custodians has taught me how to treat my future employees, to
have equality and to not look down on others.”
-2006 Focus Group Member
Conclusions

Student at this institution generally have high spirituality and improve even
more over time in terms of spirituality.

A highly spiritual environment at a institution does influence not only
students who have come with high spirituality, but also students who have
come with relatively low spirituality.

Spirituality in general, contributes to the development of better
relationships with other people.

Although higher spirituality does not contribute to better academic
outcomes, those students with higher sense of spirituality seem to have a
sense of balanced work.

Higher spirituality helps students enrich their overall educational
experience and personal development.

The increase in spirituality does contribute to the increase in student life
outcomes.

These positive results show that spirituality in general helps students
increase their learning ability, enrich their personal development, and
consequently prepare them to go into the world better prepared.