From Traits to Teaching: Personality's Impact on Teacher Efficacy in the Lower Secondary Schools

Abstract

Years of study have explored how personality affects one's professional life, including teachers’ belief in their capacities, known as self-efficacy. The current quantitative research study measures the correlation between teachers’ personality and self-efficacy. The Revised NEO Personality Inventory and Bandura's Teacher Self-Efficacy Scale were administered to 350 in-service teachers from the lower secondary schools of Kosovo. The main results show that self-efficacy is positively correlated with Extraversion, Agreeableness, Openness, and Conscientiousness and is greatest with Conscientiousness. Contrary to expectations, Neuroticism did not lower self-efficacy, even though a negative but not significant correlation was found. In regression analysis, Extraversion and Conscientiousness predicted in-service teachers’ self-efficacy. Gender did not alter self-efficacy, although women teachers were more open and conscientious. Social studies teachers had lower self-efficacy than STEM teachers. The study also suggests more research on how Neuroticism and other traits affect teachers at different schools. Faculties of Education of Kosovo's public universities should offer workshops to assist pre-service and in-service teachers understand their personalities, enhance organizational and social skills, and boost self-efficacy and personality testing, which can help hire and train classroom-ready teachers.