Teachers’ Personality trait and Teaching effectiveness in secondary schools in Mbale Municipality

Abstract

The Purpose Of This Study Was To Examine The Relationship Between Teachers’ Personality Traits (Openness To Experience, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness And Neuroticism) And Teaching Effectiveness Of Secondary School Teachers In Mbale Municipality. The Researcher Hypothesized That There Is No Statistically Significant Relationship Between Openness To Experience; Conscientiousness; Extraversion; Agreeableness And Neuroticism With Teaching Effectiveness Of Secondary School Teachers In Mbale Municipality. A Sample Of One Hundred And Ninety Six (196) Teachers Was Selected From The Study Population Of 411. The Instrument For Data Collection Was Big Five Personality Inventory (Bfi) And Teacher Self Report Effectiveness Inventory (Tsrei). The Data Collected Were Analyzed Through Spss Version 20.0 By Applying Descriptive Statistics, Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation And Multiple Regression. Findings From This Study Revealed That Openness To Experience (R= .492, P= .000<0.05), Conscientiousness(R= .413, P= .000<0.05), And Extroversion(R= .325, P= .000<0.05), Personality Traits, Had Positive Relationships With Teaching Effectiveness. On The Other Hand, There Is In Significant Positive Correlation Between Agreeableness(R= .022, P= .779>0.05) With Teaching Effectiveness And There Was Negative Relationships Between Neuroticism (R= -.106, P= .165>0.05) With Teaching Effectiveness Of Secondary Schools Teachers In Mbale Municipality. Finally, The Study Concluded That Openness To Experience Personality Trait Was The Only Strongest Contributing Personality Trait In The Prediction Of Teaching Effectiveness Of Secondary School Teachers In Mbale Municipality (Standardized Coefficient Beta= .354) (P = .000< 0.05) And Also Established That Personality Traits Of Teachers Contributed To Their Teaching Effectiveness By 20.8%.. The Following Recommendations Were Made: (I) Government, Head Teachers And Ministry Of Education Should Reward Teachers Who Are Creative, Innovative And Curious In Teaching And Learning. This Will Enable The Government Of Uganda To Achieve The Education Development Blueprint As Well As Achieving The National Mission Of Creating A Cadre Of Technical Professionals Who Can Implement The Broader Government Vision 2040 Of Transforming Uganda Into An Industrial Economy (Ii) Teachers Who Are Hard Working, Disciplined And Punctual In School Should Be Promoted In Due Time Without The Staff Having To Follow Up. This Can Be Done Through The Head Teachers’ Recommendation To The Ministry Of Education. (Iii) Head Teachers And Counseling Psychologists Should Help Teachers Develop More Social Skills, Good Nurturing And Soft Hearted Behavior In Teaching Through Affirmation, Workshops, Seminars And Conferences Which Can Help Them To Know Themselves And How To Integrate Their Personality Strengths To Make Their Teaching Techniques Become Effective (Iv) Neurotic Tendencies Such As Anger, Depression, Anxiety, And A Low Self Esteem Should Be Discouraged In Teachers At School Through Self Help Programmes Like Counseling And Dialogue Meetings For Teachers