Teachers With Personality: General Traits versus Social-Emotional Characteristics and Instructional Competencies in Brazilian Teachers

Abstract

Occupational groups differ systematically in their personality profiles, but broad personality traits may not fully capture the contextualized characteristics that differentiate individuals within specialized professions such as teaching. We examined how broad personality traits relate to a taxonomy of teaching-related Social-Emotional characteristics and Instructional competencies (SEI), organized into five domains: Bonding, Regulating, Expressing, Managing, and Innovating (BoREMI). Using data from 8,960 Brazilian teachers, we investigated whether teachers replicate the characteristic Big Five profile reported in prior research, how SEI organize within the broader personality framework, and the extent to which broad traits and their facets account for variance in these teaching-related characteristics. Teachers scored high on Agreeableness and Conscientiousness and low on Negative Emotionality, replicating the occupational personality profile observed in previous work. Joint factor analyses supported a six-factor solution comprising the Big Five plus an additional teaching-specific factor capturing shared variance across SEI. Personality facets explained 27% of the variance in SEI, indicating that these characteristics reflect substantial variance beyond broad dispositional traits. These findings suggest that teaching-related characteristics are systematically related to personality, yet not reducible to broad trait dimensions, and that occupationally contextualized assessments capture construct-relevant variance that generic personality taxonomies leave unaccounted for.

Plain Language Summary

We all have a personality a set of stable traits that shape how we think, feel, and behave across situations. Psychologists often describe personality using the Big Five: Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Open-Mindedness, and Negative Emotionality. But when it comes to understanding what makes a good teacher, do these broad traits tell the whole story? In this study, we examined whether personality alone is sufficient to describe the characteristics that matter in teaching, or whether a more tailored framework is needed. We developed a taxonomy of Social-Emotional characteristics and Instructional competencies (SEI) specifically designed to capture how teachers bond with students, regulate their own emotions, communicate and manage behavior, organize learning, and innovate in their practice: the BoREMI framework. Using data from 8,960 Brazilian public school teachers, we first confirmed that teachers, as a group, show a recognizable personality profile: they tend to score high on Agreeableness and Conscientiousness and low on Negative Emotionality. This pattern mirrors findings from Western countries, suggesting that similar types of people are drawn to and shaped by the teaching profession worldwide. We then examined how the SEI characteristics relate to personality. While the two are clearly connected, the teaching-specific characteristics capture meaningful variation that personality measures miss. When analyzed together, the SEI scales formed a distinct sixth factor alongside the Big Five, reflecting a coherent set of teaching-relevant competencies that cannot be reduced to general personality traits. These findings suggest that understanding individual differences among teachers requires frameworks that go beyond general personality. Contextualized assessments like BoREMI capture something real and distinct, and may ultimately provide a more useful basis for teacher training, professional development, and support.