Are Computing Students Different? An Analysis of Coping Strategies and Emotional Intelligence

Abstract

As the number of students enrolling in computing majors [computer science (CS), information systems (IS), information technology (IT)] has declined, retaining students in these curricula becomes increasingly important. Student success is important to retention, and one of the premises of this study is that meeting the challenges of demanding curricula often requires more than innate intelligence. To explore this assumption, two intrapersonal variables rarely studied in the computing field were measured: coping strategies and emotional intelligence as contributors to within-major grade point average (GPA). Based on data collected from 613 upper-level undergraduate students enrolled at multiple universities in the USA, the effects of coping strategies and emotional intelligence on academic performance were tested, with self-efficacy (SE) used as a covariate. The results indicate that SE is related to academic success for computing students. Emotional intelligence does predict SE for computing students. However, computing and noncomputing majors differed significantly on emotional intelligence and the ldquoaccommodationrdquo coping strategy. Further, the ldquochange the situationrdquo coping strategy was directly linked to academic success for noncomputing students, but not for computing students. Implications of these findings are discussed.