An Examination of the Relationship Between Personality Factors and Teachers’ Performance in Secondary School in Edo State

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

According to Aliiy (2000), The achievement of any educational system’s aims and objectives is heavily reliant on the work performance of the instructors who will administer the program. Teachers are an important aspect that cannot be overlooked in the progress of any educational institution. Education has been identified as a sensitive topic and a development component. Nigeria cannot afford to play with her citizens’ education. This is due to the fact that a country’s wealth is determined by the availability of human resources as well as the richness of natural resources  (Ogunrinde, 2004). Teachers at all levels are accountable for the production of labor to support the economy. This necessitates effectiveness on the part of teachers, particularly at the secondary school level. It is important to note that if secondary education is to be functional and productive, more emphasis must be placed on how teachers carry out their instructional responsibilities. Teachers are not only an important input to education, but also a major driving force in the production process and the determination of the output system. According to Ogunrinde (2004), the ultimate goal of the subject teacher in our secondary schools is to prepare and present his students to pass both internal and external examinations. He believes that “we have observed with dismay, the perfunctory and gradual deterioration of the attainment of this goal over the years.” Several obstacles stand in the way of these objectives being realized. One of them may be related to personality traits of our public school instructors Aliiy  (2000).

Personality, according to Ibukun, (1983), is the sum total of the characteristics that distinguish people, or the consistency of a person’s behavior across different situations. In other words, it refers to the characteristics that the individual is known for. Traits, on the other hand, are “persistent dimensions of personality traits that distinguish persons from one another” (Balogun,1992). Traits are therefore the sum total of consistent traits of a person that make him or her distinctive or distinct from others across different eras and settings. This is consistent with Mischel’s 1981 definition (in Agbakwuru, 2000), which defines personality traits as “consistent differences between the behaviors of two or more people.” A personality trait can also be defined as “any distinguishable, relatively long-lasting way in which one individual differs from another” (Adewumi, 2000). However, there is a growing interest in the big five personality traits and the role they play in student academic performance. The role that these characteristics play in students’ academic performance is of particular interest. The ‘Big Five’ personality traits are conscientiousness, agreeableness, openness to experience, extraversion, and locus of control. They are referred to by the acronym CAOEL. These personality traits have an impact on teachers’ performance, either positively or negatively. As a result, parents, educators, psychologists, and counselors are all concerned about the rate of decline in teachers’ standards. CAOEL, has thus been investigated in order to find potential solutions to the problem of under performance among school teachers. CAOEL stands for conscientiousness, agreeableness, openness, extraversion, and locus of control over experience  (Ogunrinde, 2004).

 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

A substantial portion of the literary vocabulary asserts that teachers’ performance is predicted based on school and home circumstances; as a result, less attention is paid to other aspects like as personality characteristics, psychological, and social issues. Several research undertaken by psychologists and educators have demonstrated that personality qualities have a significant influence in affecting teacher effectiveness in the classroom (Rosander, Bäckström, Stenberg, 2011; Conrad, and Party, 2012).

Many instructors are unable to properly educate in the classroom. And, of course, this has regularly resulted in students’ poor performance, lack of comprehension, and overall failure in examination class, which has become a severe problem. Several aspects have been investigated in the past as to the source of this societal malaise, but there appear to be hints that certain hidden elements may be to blame that need to be unearthed.

 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The general aim of this study is to examine the relationship between personality factors and teachers’ performance in secondary school. Other aims are:

i.          To examine the effect of conscientousness trait on teachers performance

ii.        To examine the effect of agreeableness trait on teachers performance

iii.      To examine the effect of openess trait on teachers performance

iv.      To examine the effect of extraversion trait on teachers performance

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

i.          What are the effects of conscientousness trait on teachers performance?

ii.        What are the effect of agreeableness trait on teachers performance?

iii.      What are the effect of openess trait on teachers performance?

iv.      What are the effect of extraversion trait on teachers performance?

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

Though much research has not been conducted on the correlates between personality traits and teacher performance, the effect of extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness personality characteristics on perceived academic performance of students in secondary school in Edo State has not received as much scholarly attention as it has in developed countries around the world. As a result, this study will be extremely important since it will contribute to the already sparse literature on the issue in the Nigerian setting.

Individuals’ personalities have a significant role in their interpersonal effect on others, particularly instructors. This research aims to raise awareness among the responsible parties in educational institutions regarding the personality issues that teachers encounter in order for action to be made.This study will be significant to educational instructors as the findings of this study will show how personality traits affects teachers performance.

SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This study will focus on the examination of the relationship between personality factors and teachers’ performance in secondary school. It will also look at the different characteristics of traits and their effects on teachers performance.

This study will be using teachers of Baptist High School, Benin City as enrolled participants for this study.

LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

This study will be limited to the examination of the relationship between personality factors and teachers’ performance in secondary school. It will also be limited to the different characteristics of traits and their effects on teachers performance.

DEFINITION OF TERMS

Examination: A Detailed inspection or study

Relationship: the way in which two or more people or things are connected, or the state of being connected.

Personality: the combination of characteristics or qualities that form an individual’s distinctive character.

Factors: a circumstance, fact, or influence that contributes to a result.