Personality and Teaching: An Investigation into Prospective Teachers’ Personality

The purpose of this study was to measure and compare the Big five personality traits of prospective teachers at teacher education institutes of Punjab, Pakistan. To fulfill the purpose of the study, a sample of 100 B.ed level prospective teachers (60 Female & 40 Male) was taken from four public sector universities of Punjab, Pakistan. Twenty Five prospective teachers from each university were selected by using convenient sampling technique. The big five inventory (BFI) originally developed by Oliver P. John, (1999) with little modification was distributed among the selected prospective teachers. This inventory comprised of twenty five statements about Big five personality traits (five statements about each personality trait). Big five personality traits are Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism and Openness. Collected data was analyzed by using simple descriptive and inferential statistical techniques such as mean and t-test. It was found that the ratio of four personality traits (Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Neuroticism) was nearly same, but the ratio of Openness personality trait is greater which means that the openness personality trait of prospective teachers is more dominant as compared to remaining four big personality traits. It was also found that there was a significant difference between male and female prospective teachers on their big five personality traits. Female prospective teachers got greater score on their big five personality trait instrument as compared to male prospective teachers. Findings of this study indicated the quality of teacher education programs in terms of their capability to develop teacher personality. Study enabled researchers to suggest some strategies for development of teachers’ personality teacher personality development to be the part of teacher education programs. Key Terms: Personality, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism and Openness. Introduction Personality may be viewed as the dynamic organization of those traits and characteristic patterns of behavior that are unique to the individual (Callahan, 1966). Some social psychologists express that personality is entirely a matter of social awareness -which is pointless to talk about anyone's personality separated from the particular people who intermingle with him, get impersonation about him, and use trait terms in unfolding him (Holt, 1971). A trait is a simple behavioral blueprint a outlook or propensity to behave in a describable way. © Centre for Promoting Ideas, USA www.ijhssnet.com 162 According to Allport (1966), a trait (1) is more widespread than a habit, (2) is forceful and determinative in behavior, (3) may be viewed either in the light of the personality which contains it, or in the light of its division in the population at large, and (4) cannot be proved nonexistent by the absolute reality that some acts are incoherent with it. Research on teacher personality is based on the assumption that the teacher as a person is a momentous variable in the teaching-learning process. Personality influences the behavior of the teacher in various ways, such as interface with students, methods selected, and learning experiences chosen (Murray, 1972). The successful use of a teacher's personality is vital in conducting instructional activities. Personality aids teaching, for communication takes place between the teacher and the learner— even in the absence of the spoken word (nonverbal communication). The teacher whose personality helps create and preserve a classroom or learning environment in which students feel contented and in which they are provoked to learn is said to have an enviable teaching personality (Callahan, 1966). Each individual has characteristic attributes of personality which manipulate both the manner in which he behaves toward others and the ways in which they act in response to him. The teacher with invasive dictatorial characteristics, for example, is likely to reproduce them in his relationships with students and in the techniques he uses in his instruction (Morrison and Mclntyre, 1972.) Nelson (1964) reported that teachers and pupils in junior diverge considerably in expressions of their attitudes toward each other. He found that teachers are cognitively leaning toward pupils while pupils are affectively sloping toward teachers. Teacher personality is, therefore, straightforwardly and indirectly related to learning and teaching in the affective domain as well as to that in cognitive and psychomotor domains. Becoming aware of one’s own personality type and the personality type of others can be helpful in mounting intra-personal and inter-personal development. Personality recognition has been used for many purposes in various organizations; to forecast a worker's aptitude to fill definite roles, to set up pleasant-sounding relationships, to conclude team effectiveness, and to predict future behavior (Barbian, 2001). The personality theory of Jung (1971) assumes that people are dissimilar from each other in realistic types consisting of pairs of opposites. The first pair describes the way people gain their energy. Some people are thrilled by interacting with others and are tuned to the outer world of measures. Others are more thoughtful with the inner self and are thrilled by their own judgment and thoughts. These two boundaries are termed Extraversion (E) and Introversion (I). The second pair in Jung’s theory relates to the way individuals recognize and acquire information. These avenues of gaining are termed Sensing (S) and Intuition (N). Individual’s principal in the Sensing direction carefully examines information and employ all of their senses in their investigations. They are reality based and are thorough in investigative the data they have carefully collected. Individuals who are spontaneous (N's) rely on their instincts and trust their “sixth sense” to collect information. Two modes of decision and methods of reaching decisions are labeled Thinking (T) and Feeling (F). Thinkers are objective, logical and reasonable, and consider data in reaching conclusions. They are able to suspend their personal feelings when they logically resolve a dilemma. In contrast, Feelers are subjective and thoughtful of sentimental outcomes to precise situation. Feelers consider how their decisions will crash others. Myers and Briggs (1987) elaborated on Jung’s theory by adding the Judgment/ Perception polarities. These functions indicate the mode in which people act together with the environment. Judgers (J) prefer an organized and stable environment, and strive to regulate and manage their lives. Whereas, Perceivers (P) are elastic and impulsive and favor to stay open to opportunities as they unfold. The view "good teachers are born, not made" is opposing to both the wide range of personalities observed among efficient teachers and the acknowledgement that specialized knowledge, skills, and attitudes are acquired for efficient teaching. While "personality" characteristics can persuade perceptions of effective teaching and may guide to individual preferences for teaching and learning, the essential qualities connected with effective teaching are acquired, refined, and transformed over a teaching career. There are more than a few reasons for attributing such enormous importance to the personality of a teacher. The first and leading is that the personality of the teacher influences his/her association with pupils. One is aware that faulty/pathological interface patterns stemming from the concerned personality of the teacher can cause gigantic damage to the mental and physical health position of pupils. A well balanced, non-anxious teacher can generate a vigorous emotional atmosphere of learning and would be at ease with his/her pupils. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Vol. 2 No. 17; September 2012 163 Researches show that learning in the classroom is an emotional experience, and the younger the people, the truer are this statement (Sehgal, 1955). The process of learning in the classroom is accompanied and accelerated by positive affect and relaxed atmosphere. Fear of teachers can inhibit learning. In another study, Sehgal (1994, 1996) discovered that pupils rated those teachers as most effective who were mentally healthy, stable, warm, and nurturant; and pupils scored maximum marks in subjects taught by the teachers they liked the most. An overanxious teacher with negative attitude towards pupils may unconsciously transfer his/her tensions and unresolved neurotic conflicts to pupils via his/her disturbed emotional interactions with pupils, for example, he/she may continuously denigrate good pupils, and be overcritical, nagging, cynical, over-restrictive, and oppressive in the class. Such a teacher is also aggressive and hostile. Unresolved neurotic conflicts may force the teacher to be sadistic, and suppress creativity and spontaneity of pupils. An self-centered and anarchistic teacher may weaken brilliant students. Pupils are at the receiving end of these unhealthy behaviour patterns of teachers; and pupils’ achievement, mental health and liking for a subject are invariably linked with the teacher’s personality (Sehgal and Kaur, 1995; Sehgal, 1996). Training programmes can enhance teacher effectiveness by training them in empathy and interpersonal skills. The key to the satisfied, successful and effective occupational and professional life is to have those personality traits most suited to one’s profession, job or occupation. Specifically, teaching as novel and innovative profession demands certain personality traits to be essential for efficacy and quality performance. Important Personality Traits needed for Teaching Effectiveness: The “Big five “Personality Traits: 1. Conscientiousness: dependable, hard-working, organized, self disciplined, persistent, responsible 2. Emotional stability: Calm, secure, happy, unworried 3. Agreeableness: Co-operative, worm caring, good-natured, Courteous trusting 4. Extraversion: Sociable, outgoing, talkative assertive, Gregarious 5. Openness to experience: Curious, intellectual, creative, cultured, artistic, sensitive, flexible imaginative. The potential importance of teacher personality has long been of interest to education researchers (e.g., Barr, 1952; 1965; Tyler, 1960). Most of the research on personality focuses on the types of people who enter the teaching profession, rather than their effectiveness. Of the studies focusing on effectiveness, all use the teacher evaluation as the measure of effectiveness and nearly all focus on student-teachers. It stated that "good teachers" posses positive personality characteristics and interpersonal skills (Getzels and Jackson. 1963). It was further found that although "teachers" did not significantly differ on personality traits from the general population, there was a large and surprising amount of diversity in "teachers" personality characteristics when they are examined by sex, level of teaching service, and area of specialization within the profession (Getzels and Jackson, 1963). According to Dickson and Wiersma (1984) and Gibney and Wiersma (1986), there is ample evidence supporting the view that personality of a teacher is a very important determiner of successful teaching, and that teacher effectiveness is perceived to exist as a consequence of the characteristics of a teacher as a person. No wonder, then, that a majority of earlier studies in the area of teacher effectiveness have linked teacher effectiveness with outgoing, extraverted tendencies, confidence (Soloman, 1965; Srivastava and Bhargava, 1984); emotional stability, emotional maturity, calmness, low anxiety, warm and empathetic personality, sensitivity and warmth (Gage, 1965); problem-solving ability (Gage, 1965; Matteson, 1974); less inhibition, control, less impulsive personality, sense of humour and flexibility. Further, those teachers have also been found to be effective who are not dominated by a narcisstic self and a neurotic need for power and authority (Hamachek, 1969; Mohan, 1995). The review of related research and present results clearly highlight that personality is a more important predictor of teacher effectiveness than cognitive dimension; and this statement has cross-cultural validity. Also, as there are some differences in predictors of various measures of teacher effectiveness, one may take teacher effectiveness to be a multi-dimensional concept, where teacher effectiveness must be assessed from different sources rather than a single source to be more valid. Research on teachers’ personality is based on the assumption that the teacher as a person is a significant figure in the teaching-learning process. Personality influences the behavior of the teacher in diverse ways, such as in interaction with students, teaching methods selected, and learning experiences chosen. The effective use of a teacher's personality is essential in conducting instructional activities. Students learn from a teacher’s personality even if there is no formal interaction between student and teacher. © Centre for Promoting Ideas, USA www.ijhssnet.com 164 The teacher whose personality helps create and maintain classroom a learning environment in which students feel comfortable and in which they are motivated to learn is said to have a desirable teaching personality. The above mentioned literature related to teacher’s personality and its importance suggest that a lot of research has been conducted to investigate the personality traits of pre-service and in-service teachers, but unfortunately no specific research has been conducted in Pakistan. Especially no study has been conducted to measure the personality traits of prospective teachers in teacher education institutes of Pakistan. This study was conducted to remove the deficiency of research in this specific area. Statement of the problem The study aimed at measuring the personality traits of prospective teachers at teacher education institutes in Punjab Pakistan. Objectives of the study Following were the main objectives of the study: 1. To examine the ratio of Big five personality traits (Conscientiousness, Emotional stability, Openness to experience, Extraversion, Agreeableness) in prospective teachers at Teacher Education Institutes of Punjab, Pakistan. 2. To compare the Big five personality traits (Conscientiousness, Emotional stability, Openness to experience, Extraversion, Agreeableness) of male and female prospective teachers at Teacher Education Institutes in Punjab, Pakistan. 3. To put forward some useful suggestions and strategies to improve the quality of teacher education programs in terms of their capability to develop prospective teachers’ personality. Research Questions of the study In consistence with the objectives, following research questions were made: 1. To what extent all Big five personality traits (Conscientiousness, Emotional stability, Openness to experience, Extraversion, Agreeableness) are present in prospective teachers at Teacher Education Institutes in Punjab, Pakistan? 2. Is there any significant difference between the Big five personality traits (Conscientiousness, Emotional stability, Openness to experience, Extraversion, Agreeableness) of male and female prospective teachers at Teacher Education Institutes in Punjab, Pakistan? For above research question, following hypothesis were formulated: H0:1 there is no significant difference between male and female prospective teachers on Extraversion trait of their personality. H0:2 there is no significant difference between male and female prospective teachers on Agreeableness trait of their personality. H0:3 there is no significant difference between male and female prospective teachers on Conscientiousness trait of their personality. H0:4 there is no significant difference between male and female prospective teachers on Neuroticism trait of their personality. H0:5 there is no significant difference between male and female prospective teachers on Openness trait of their personality. Methodology and Procedure The descriptive survey research design was used to carry out this study. The purpose of this study was to measure and compare the Big five personality traits of male and female prospective teachers in teacher education institutes of Punjab Pakistan. The population surveyed consisted of all prospective teachers of public teacher education institutes in Punjab. Convenient sampling technique was used to select 100 B.ed level prospective teachers (60 Female & 40 Male) from four teacher education institutes of Punjab. Twenty five prospective teachers from each university were selected .The investigators utilized the instrument of Big Five Inventory (BFI) to measure teachers’ personality traits. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Vol. 2 No. 17; September 2012 165 This inventory was originally developed by Oliver P. John, (1999) and it was distributed among the selected prospective teachers with little modification. The BFI has been used frequently in research settings. The "Big Five" factors of personality are five broad domains or dimensions of personality which are used to describe human personality. These Big five personality traits are Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism and Openness. These five factors provide a rich conceptual framework for integrating all the research findings and theory in personality psychology. This inventory comprised of twenty five statements about personality traits (five statements about each personality trait). It consisted of a 5 point Likert Scale. The response categories to each of questions were in descending order of weighting: Strongly Agree (5 points), Agree (4 points), Neutral (3 points), Disagree (2 points), and Strongly Disagree (1 points). The coefficient alpha reliability of BFI is (.83). Respondents were asked to indicate their level of agreement on each statement of the inventory. Collected data was analyzed by using simple descriptive and inferential statistical techniques such as mean and ttest. Findings of the study Research Question: 1 Table: 1 Mean score of the prospective teachers on Big Five personality traits Personality Trait Extraversion Agreeableness Conscientiousness Neuroticism Openness Total Items 5 5 5 5 5 Range of Scores 1-25 1-25 1-25 1-25 1-25 Mean Score 15.54 15.36 15.71 15.44 17.55 Table 1 show that means score of prospective teachers on four personality traits (Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Neuroticism) is nearly same, but the mean score on Openness personality trait is greater. It means that the openness personality trait of prospective teachers is more dominant as compared to remaining four big personality traits. Research Question: 2 H0:1 there is no significant difference between male and female prospective teachers on Extraversion trait of their personality Table: 2. Mean score of the prospective teachers on trait of Extraversion Gender Personality Trait St.dev Mean Score df= (n1 + n2) -2 t-value Male (n1=40 ) Extraversion 2.43 17.45 40+60-2=98 7.59 Female (n2=60 ) Extraversion 1.76 14.27 Table 2 shows that the mean score of male prospective teachers is greater than the mean score of female prospective teachers on their Extraversion personality trait. It also shows that t-value 7.59 is greater than critical tvalue 1.980 at 5% level of significance. So the null hypothesis H0:1 there is no significant difference between male and female prospective teachers on Extraversion trait of their personality is rejected. It means that there is a significant difference between the male and female prospective teachers on Extraversion trait of their personality. H0:2 there is no significant difference between male and female prospective teachers on Agreeableness trait of their personality Table: 3. Mean score of the prospective teachers on trait of Agreeableness Gender Personality Trait St.dev Mean Score df= (n1 + n2) -2 t-value Male (n1=40 ) Agreeableness 2.43 14.23 40+60-2=98 4.32 Female (n2=60 ) Agreeableness 1.76 16.12 Table 3 shows that the mean score of female prospective teachers is greater than the mean score of male prospective teachers on their Agreeableness personality trait. It also shows that t-value 4.32 is greater than critical t-value 1.980 at 5% level of significance. So the null hypothesis H0:2 there is no significant difference between male and female prospective teachers on Agreeableness trait of their personality is rejected. © Centre for Promoting Ideas, USA www.ijhssnet.com 166 It means that there is a significant difference between the male and female prospective teachers on Agreeableness trait of their personality. H0:3 there is no significant difference between male and female prospective teachers on Conscientiousness trait of their personality. Table: 4. Mean score of the prospective teachers on trait of Conscientiousness Gender Personality Trait St.dev Mean Score df= (n1 + n2) -2 t-value Male (n1=40 ) Conscientiousness. 1.752471 14.83 40+60-2=98 3.5 Female (n2=60 ) Conscientiousness. 2.242124 16.32 Table 4 shows that the mean score of female prospective teachers is greater than the mean score of male prospective teachers on their Conscientiousness personality trait. It also shows that t-value 3.5 is greater than critical t-value 1.980 at 5% level of significance. So the null hypothesis H0:3 there is no significant difference between male and female prospective teachers on Conscientiousness trait of their personality is rejected. It means that there is a significant difference between the male and female prospective teachers on Conscientiousness trait of their personality. H0:4 there is no significant difference between male and female prospective teachers on Neuroticism trait of their personality Table: 5. Mean score of the prospective teachers on trait of Neuroticism. Gender Personality Trait St.dev Mean Score df= (n1 + n2) -2 t-value Male (n1=40 ) Neuroticism. 1.35 14.42 40+60-2=98 6.33 Female (n2=60 ) Neuroticism. 2.24 16.92 Table 5 shows that the mean score of female prospective teachers is greater than the mean score of male prospective teachers on their Neuroticism personality trait. It also shows that t-value 6.33 is greater than critical tvalue 1.980 at 5% level of significance. So the null hypothesis H0:4 there is no significant difference between male and female prospective teachers on Neuroticism trait of their personality is rejected. It means that there is a significant difference between the male and female prospective teachers on Neuroticism trait of their personality. H0:5 there is no significant difference between male and female prospective teachers on Openness trait of their personality. Table: 6. Mean score of the prospective teachers on trait of Openness Gender Personality Trait St.dev Mean Score df= (n1 + n2) -2 t-value Male (n1=40 ) Openness. 1.74 15.05 40+60-2=98 10.47 Female (n2=60 ) Openness. 2.08 19.23 Table 6 shows that the mean score of female prospective teachers is greater than the mean score of male prospective teachers on their Openness personality trait. It also shows that t-value 10.47 is greater than critical tvalue 1.980 at 5% level of significance. So the null hypothesis H0:5 there is no significant difference between male and female prospective teachers on Openness trait of their personality is rejected. It means that there is a significant difference between the male and female prospective teachers on Openness trait of their personality Findings and Conclusions The findings of this study show that means score of prospective teachers on four personality traits (Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Neuroticism) is nearly same, but the mean score on Openness personality trait is greater. It means that the openness personality trait of prospective teachers is more dominant as compared to remaining four Big Five personality traits. There is a significant difference between the male and female prospective teachers on Extraversion trait of their personality. The mean score of male prospective teachers is greater than the mean score of female prospective teachers on their Extraversion personality trait. It means that male prospective teachers are dominant over female prospective teachers on their Extraversion personality trait. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Vol. 2 No. 17; September 2012 167 There is a significant difference between the male and female prospective teachers on Agreeableness trait of their personality. The mean score of female prospective teachers is greater than the mean score of male prospective teachers on their Agreeableness personality trait. It means that female prospective teachers are dominant over male prospective teachers on their Agreeableness personality trait. The mean score of female prospective teachers is greater than the mean score of male prospective teachers on Conscientiousness personality trait. It means that female prospective teachers are dominant over male prospective teachers on their Conscientiousness personality trait. The mean score of female prospective teachers is greater than the mean score of male prospective teachers on their Neuroticism personality trait and there is a significant difference between the male and female prospective teachers on Neuroticism trait of their personality. It means that female prospective teachers are dominant over male prospective teachers on their Neuroticism personality trait. The mean score of female prospective teachers is greater than the mean score of male prospective teachers on their Openness personality trait and there is a significant difference between the male and female prospective teachers on Openness trait of their personality. It means that female prospective teachers are dominant over male prospective teachers on their Openness personality trait. Arising from the findings of this study, one major conclusion that could be drawn is that personality traits of Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Neuroticism in prospective teachers are nearly same, but the mean score on Openness personality trait is greater. Significant difference exists in personality traits based on Gender. It is assumed that these findings have some implications for practice and for further research. One important implication of this study is the finding that there is a connection between gender and personality traits. This study shows that females generally possess the personality traits necessary to become an effective teacher to a higher degree than males did. This study may be helpful as an introduction to the complex task of finding the “best” teachers. The fact that a teacher has to have both knowledge and certification to be a teacher, along with certain personality traits, make the search for qualified teachers for Pakistani schools even more difficult. Perhaps more studies should be conducted to examine more fully what activities or habits might have caused the difference between male and female prospective teachers’ personality traits.