The Correlation between Students’ Character and Curricular Activities at the Moroccan University

Abstract

The purpose of this non-experimental correlational study is to investigate the correlation between curricular activities and students’ character in Moroccan tertiary level. The sample consisted of English department students from numerous Moroccan universities and institutions. The main research question seeks to answer if there is a statistically significant relationship between curricular activities and students’ morals, ethics, values and citizenship. To this end, triangulation in data collection and analysis was employed. 220 students filled in the online questionnaires to study the correlation between university curricular activities and students’ character, mainly their ethics, values, morals and citizenship. Besides, 17 students participated in three focus groups to elicit their opinions and attitudes towards their character, curricular activities and the relationship between the underlying variables. The quantitative data showed that there is a positive correlation between curricular activities and students’ character while the qualitative date confirmed previous quantitative results concerning the positive correlations between variables. Overall, the results suggested that policy makers, university presidents and deans, faculty staff and teachers need to be aware of the strong positive correlation these activities have with students’ morality, ethics, values and civic skills as well as the importance of curricular activities in developing students’ character.