Academic Outcomes and Inner Dimensions: Exploring Spiritual Intelligence, Academic Achievement, and Personality Traits

Abstract

The paper presents a research study that examines the relationships between spiritual intelligence (SI), academic performance, and personality and gender disparities among university students in Hyderabad, India. Based on the background of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 of India, which focuses on holistic development, the study is conducted on the effect of inner dimensions on academic outcomes. The correlational design was used with the sample of 213 students (62.4 percent men, 37.6 percent women; 18-30 years old). The Spiritual Intelligence Self-Report Inventory (SISRI-2008), Ten-Item Personality Inventory (TIPI), and Academic Performance Questionnaire (McGregory, 2015) were used to collect data and assessed using SPSS through correlations, t-tests, and ANOVA. The findings have shown that the relationship between SI and academic achievement is significant and positive (r =.261, p<.001), which is in line with the hypothesis presented that SI increases academic performance. SI was found to be greatly affected by personality traits, especially the Agreeableness (F(56, 156) = 1.644, p = .009), and the rest of the personality traits were also shown to have a positive impact on SI, as there was a strong correlation (r =.385, p =.001 ). Gender differences were also explored; females (M = 59.25) scored higher on the SI than males (M = 54.54; p =.009). These results highlight the importance of SI to contribute to Academic achievement, which is supplemented by personality traits such as Agreeableness. The paper provides its recommendation for the inclusion of Spirituality in the education system in order to foster holistic growth of students, especially in the Indian academic environment that is highly competitive and spiritually oriented. The self-report bias and small sample size are limitations that may support future longitudinal and cross-cultural studies.