Two students of MSc statistics – Sachin Jadhav and Prathmesh Jadhav – carried out a project ‘statistical analysis on significance of ECAs on personal growth and academic relevance of SPU students’ under the guidance of Dr Khimya Tinani from the post-graduate Department of Statistics of SPU’s Faculty of Science.
“The project was aimed to investigate the impact of ECAs,” said Tinani, adding that the study covered all the post-graduate students studying in all departments of SPU.
A sample of 338 randomly selected students from 28 different departments was considered for the questionnaire-based survey. The number of students from these departments was taken in proportion to the department’s population through stratified random sampling method.
The study revealed that 95% students (320 out of 338 students) participated in ECAs while 5% (18 students) did not participate in any ECA.
“The survey included questions on participation in various types of ECAs, impact of ECAs on personal growth factors like communication skills, self-confidence, teamwork etc, time dedicated to ECAs and factors that influence ECAs and grades,” she said.
For a majority of students (81%), sports was the most preferred ECA.
A majority of students believed that participation in ECAs has either very much or extremely helped them in improving communication skills (84%), enhanced team work skills (83%), provided them a sense of responsibility (81%), time management skills (80%), personal life skills (80%), leadership skills (79%), stress management (79%), critical thinking (78%), problem solving skills (77%) and increased their self-confidence (76%).
“This shows how important these activities are for shaping individuals. We have also found a positive relationship between the time students dedicated to ECAs and reported level of improvement. Students who spent more hours (3-4 hours) on ECAs reported greater gains in personal growth compared to those with less engagement,” she said.
“The 5% students who did not participate in any ECA was due to social anxiety or feeling uncomfortable in large group and lack of time due to other commitments,” the survey revealed.
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