AN INVESTIGATION ON THE IMPORTANCE OF PERSONALITY TRAITS ON STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
For clarification purposes, consider the study’s context.
Activity: This is a student-centered teaching-learning approach in which the student has some control over the process and directs most of the instructional activities with adequate guidance from the teacher.
Academic performance of students has been a major source of disagreement among teachers, parents, school administrators, students, and members of the general public. Several studies have been conducted in an attempt to comprehend the complexities underlying students’ academic achievement. A variety of explanations have been proposed by psychologists for why such disparities in academic performance persist. External factors such as school type, teaching methods, school location, instructional materials, study habits, teacher qualification and experience, and so on had received a lot of attention (Eyong, David). (2014); Umoh, 2014). Furthermore, there had been a lot of emphasis on internal factors like student performance. Many parents spend a lot of money to send their children to prestigious schools, and those who can afford it even invest in education abroad in the hopes of improving their children’s academic performance. Opinions differ on what causes some children to excel academically while others appear to underperform in comparison to their peers. For many years, many psychologists and educationalists have sought to uncover the primary determinants of individual academic success. Intelligent, self-conceptualized students outperform their male and female counterparts in terms of academic achievement. Home upbringing, peer group influence, socioeconomic background, and learning environment are all factors to consider.
to name a few, have all been thoroughly researched as factors influencing academic achievement, particularly among secondary school students (Eyong, David and Umoh, 2014). Students who are intelligent and self-conceptualized outperform their male and female counterparts in terms of academic achievement. Students’ personality traits are seen to have a significant impact on their academic success, and this is supported by research (Eyong, David and Umoh, 2014).
Traits Theorists have attempted to identify the key characteristics that define personality, as well as those that have a long-term impact on student academic success. This is due, in part, to the fact that identifying and comprehending the factors that influence academic success has long been a focus of counseling and educational psychologists. Many researchers want to know ahead of time.
who will perform well or poorly in whatever academic activity they are involved in. To develop an education curriculum aimed at improving academic performance in Nigerian secondary schools, it is necessary to first identify the factors that influence academic achievement.
Early research overemphasized cognitive capacity as a primary predictor of academic achievement as a significant driver of academic performance (Harris, 1940; Elshout and Veenman, 1992). Despite the fact that research has shown that cognitive ability is one of the most important predictors of academic success, some schools of thought maintain that cognitive ability factors alone cannot account for all differences in academic performance between individuals. Furnham, Chamorro-Premuzic, and McDougall are among the researchers involved. (2003) contend that, in addition to cognitive capacity, other factors, such as personality traits, account for the variation observed in students’ academic achievement (s). Because cognitive capacity reflects what a student can achieve, whereas personality traits may reflect what a student will do, many academics are becoming more interested in the relationship between personality traits and academic achievement. Personality traits have been studied in the psychological literature for many decades due to their influence on a variety of psychosocial outcomes, including motivation and academic success. The Big Five personality model (Goldberg, 1999) is the most widely studied personality trait, and it is believed that personality traits cluster around five elements, which are as follows:
Extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness are the five personality traits. Conscientiousness is linked to people who are organized, goal-oriented, and sociable, whereas extraversion is linked to people who are sociable, assertive, and talkative. Individuals with the trait neuroticism are emotionally unstable, anxious, and impulsive. Individuals with a high level of openness are associated with those who enjoy novelty and are intellectually curious. Furthermore, those with high levels of agreeableness are more likely to be empathic, cooperative, and extremely helpful to others (Komarraju, Karau, Schmeck and Avdic, 2011).
While much research has been conducted in Europe and other Western countries, only a few studies on the relationship between personality and academic achievement in teenagers and younger have been completed in Nigeria.
children in secondary schools. As a result, the goal of this study is to determine the impact of personality traits on students’ academic progress in secondary school.
1.2 Problem Identification
Large sections of the literature lexicon assert that students’ academic achievement can be predicted based on factors such as school and home factors, with little consideration given to other factors such as personality traits factors, psychological and sociological factors, and as a result, these factors have received little attention. Various studies conducted by psychologists and educationalists, for example, have revealed that personality characteristics variables have a significant influence on students’ academic achievement (Rosander, Bäckström, Stenberg, 2011; Conrad and Party, 2012; Rosenberg, Bäckström, Stenberg, 2011).
In the United States of America, The vast majority of studies on the links between personality traits and academic achievement have been conducted outside of Nigeria. With a few exceptions, these investigations were mostly conducted in wealthy countries. There is currently a scarcity of research in Nigeria on the relationship between personality traits and academic success. Furthermore, the majority of studies conducted in the home font by researchers such as Adeyemi and Adeyemi (2014); Eyong; David; and Umoh (2014); Amadi; Ogadimma and Tunde (2015); Litvinova; Balarabe and Mohammed (2015) were largely theoretical in nature, with the conclusion being subjectively influenced by the researchers’ assumptions. As a result, it should be noted that previous research did not devote enough empirical attention to the correlations between personality and intelligence.
In Nigerian universities, students’ characteristics and academic success are examined. As a result, the completion of this research project will bridge the gap by critically examining the impact of personality traits on students’ academic progress in secondary schools.
1.3 The Study’s Objective
The overall goal of this study is to investigate the impact of personality traits on secondary school students’ academic achievement. Other specific goals include:
i. To investigate the relationship between extraversion personality traits and academic achievement in students.
ii. To investigate the impact of the conscientiousness personality trait on students’ academic achievement.
iii. To investigate the impact of neuroticism on students’ academic achievement.
iv. Determine whether the agreeableness trait factor is related to academic achievement in students.
v. To investigate the impact of openness
Students’ academic achievement is influenced by their personality traits.
1.4 Research Concerns
The following research questions guided this study:
i. What is the relationship between extraversion personality traits and academic achievement in students?
ii. What is the relationship between the conscientiousness personality factor and academic achievement in students?
iii. How significant is the neuroticism trait in students’ academic achievement?
iv. Is the agreeableness trait factor related to academic achievement in students?
v. How does the openness trait factor affect students’ academic achievement?
1.5 The study’s significance
Despite extensive research on the relationships between personality traits and academic achievement, the effect of extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness personality characteristics on perceived academic performance of secondary school students has not been studied.
in Lagos State have not received as much scholarly attention as they have in developed countries around the world. As a result, this study will be extremely important because it will add to the already sparse literature on the subject in the Nigerian context.
An individual’s introvert or extrovert personality is very important in interpersonal influence on other people, especially students academically. This study aims to raise awareness among responsible parties in educational institutions about the anxiety problems that students face, allowing action to be taken.
Following the study’s conclusion, findings, and recommendations, parents and teachers in secondary schools should be educated on the importance of better managing students’ personality characteristics to ensure better learning and academic performance.
The findings of this study will be of great interest to students, future researchers, and scholars, particularly in the fields of education and psychology.
The study’s findings would be important to policymakers and implementers in general, as they would use the findings and recommendations provided.
1.6 The Study’s Scope
The study will look at the relationship between extraversion personality traits and academic achievement in students. The study will also look into the impact of the conscientiousness personality trait on students’ academic achievement. The study will delve deeper into the impact of neuroticism on students’ academic achievement. Furthermore, this study will investigate whether the agreeableness trait factor is related to students’ academic achievement. Finally, the study will look into the impact of the openness trait.
factor on students’ academic achievement. As a result, the study will serve as a delineator for Rivers State.
1.7 The Study’s Limitations
During the course of the study, the researcher encountered a number of challenges, one of which was a lack of adequate funding, indicating that the researcher is not yet earning money and must rely on family support.
Another factor that threatened the study’s success was a lack of time. The researcher had to go to the field, libraries, write reports, and submit them on time, which was a major constraint to the researcher’s study.
Overall, academic stress exacerbated the problems, but the researcher made every effort to maximize the available resources and information.
Allowing the limitations to cause the researcher to lose sight of the quality of the study’s objective. In essence, these limitations have no bearing on the validity of the study’s findings.
1.8 Definitions of terms
Personality traits: a relatively stable, consistent, and enduring internal characteristic inferred from an individual’s pattern of behaviors, attitudes, feelings, and habits.
Academic achievement: performance outcomes that indicate how far a person has progressed toward specific goals that were the focus of activities in instructional settings, such as school, college, and university.
Academic performance: The learning outcome or output in students taught government that results from the teacher’s teaching techniques/methods.
Effect: The outcome of using an appropriate teaching method on students, as measured.
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