A comparative study of the values of freshmen and seniors by degree major in a university setting

The purpose of this study was to determine the instrumental and terminal values, as assessed through the Rokeach Value Survey, Form D, of a sample of freshmen and senior university students, and to ascertain differences, if any, between the two samples when students were classified by degree major (social science, business, fine and applied arts, engineering), and to draw implications from the findings regarding the influence of the curriculum on student values. The study hypothesized that the ordering of instrumental and terminal values of the study sample of freshmen would differ significantly from those of the study sample of seniors when students were classified by degree major. Data were collected from a convenience sample of 396 freshmen and 404 seniors from The American University, Washington, D.C., The University of Hartford, West Hartford, Connecticut, and The George Washington University, Washington, D.C. Data were gathered in-class using two survey instruments, the Personal Data Inventory and the Rokeach Value Survey, Form D. The latter asks respondents to prioritize 18 terminal values (end-states of existence) and 18 instrumental values (preferred modes of conduct). The Personal Data Inventory elicits information on seven variables: university of attendance, university class, degree major, gender, age, marital status, and immediate plans following graduation. Differences were tested using the chi-square test with the.05 level as the standard for significance. Differences were found for 11 of 36 values. Freshmen respondents assigned greater priority than did senior respondents to the terminal values "freedom," "true friendship," and "a world at peace." Freshmen assigned more importance than did seniors to the instrumental values "loyal" and "logical." In contrast, seniors assigned greater importance than did freshmen to the terminal values "a sense of accomplishment," "salvation," and "self-respect." Seniors assigned more importance than did freshmen to the instrumental values "capable," "obedient," and "courageous.". In general, it was found that the values of students in the four degree majors considered in this research remained reasonably stable over the four undergraduate years. This seems to warrant the conclusion that the college/university curriculum had minimal impact on the values of undergraduate students in this sample.