The Relationship between Optimism and Engagement: The Impact on Student Performance.

Abstract

The concepts of optimism and employee engagement as mechanisms to improving individual performance have been discussed in the management literature. Though studies concerning optimism in the workplace are relatively limited, evidence certainly exists that links the concept to improvement in individual academic and workplace performance. Significantly more has been written, particularly since 2000, regarding employee engagement. Since the Gallup Organization’s development of the Q12 (a survey instrument to measure employee engagement) over a decade ago, articles in the area of employee engagement--ranging from the benefits of increased employee engagement to ways to improve the level of engagement--have increased and intensified dramatically. Based on the number of studies in the literature, evidence appears clear that high levels of employee engagement are associated with improved individual employee performance. This paper explores the possibility that these relationships may also exist in the academic setting by examining the relationship between student engagement and student optimism as well as the relationship of optimism and individual academic performance. Results indicate that similar relationships exist in the academic setting with engagement positively influencing optimism significantly which in turn positively influences student perceptions of performance.

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