Impact of Personality Traits on Students Academic Performance in Chamba in the Nanumba North Municipality of Northern Region, Ghana
CHAPTER ONE
Objectives of the Study
The objectives of the study are grouped into two. These are general and specific objectives.
General objective
The general objective of this recent study is to assess how personality traits affect academic performance of the students.
Specific objectives
To accomplish the above general objective, the study would address the following specific objectives:
- To identify the personality traits exhibited by students of Chamba in the Nanumba North Municipality of Northern region.
- To determine which of the traits is the most predictive factor of academic performance.
- To identify the effects of personality traits on academic performance.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
Introduction
In recruiting students, competence based on relevant academic qualifications and previous experiences are often given credence by recruiters. An emerging paradigm is the influence of personality traits on academic achievement. Divergent views, underpinned by several hypotheses have been reported on the relationship between personality traits and academic performance. This chapter reviews the key literature and theories on the different personality traits; academic performance and reported interrelationships. At the end of the chapter, a summary on the current state of knowledge gaps are highlighted and the areas to which this study aims to contribute are also defined.
The Concept of Personality
Kinicki, (2008), refers to personality as a stable set of characteristics that are responsible for a person’s identity. The internal dimension or the primary dimensions of diversity are mostly outside our control but strongly influence our attitudes and our expectations and assumptions about others, thus influencing our behavior (Kinicki, 2008). Again, is a relatively enduring pattern of thinking, feeling and acting that characterize a person’s response to his or her environment (Bratton et al, 2007). Personality looks at the individuality, where people differ significantly in the ways they routinely think, feel and act. Personality rests on the observation that people seem to behave somewhat consistently overtime and across different life situations eg. One would not be characterize a person having a shy personality if that person tended to be dominantly shy and retire only some of the time and on other occasions was frequently observed to be very sociable and outgoing.
The study of personality involves examining factors within the people that causes them to behave consistently as they do. The determinants of personality are nature and nurture. Nature referring to the biological heritage and genetic makeup whilst Nurture is the life experiences one has gone through. Twins studies indicate that identical twins that grow up together in the same family have the same permissiveness or strict and similar life experiences. If the twins have similar personality, it is impossible to identify the source of similarity because they have not only the same genetic makeup but also similar experiences including strictness or permissiveness of a child’s parent, the number of other children in the family, demands from parents and teachers and culture (Kinicki 2008).
It is perceived that personality is stable over periods of time because half of the variations is inherited from parents and is also likely to change as one environment changes. Personality is an important difference that teachers and academic members need to take into account because realizing for example that an student complains a lot because of his or personality will help teachers and colleagues deal this type of student’s academic performance (Kinicki 2008).
Personality Traits Theories
Colquitt et al. (2009) defines personality traits as the structures and propensities inside a person that explains his or her characteristic patterns of thought, emotion and behavior. Personality captures what people are like, in contrast to ability which captures what people can do (Colquitt et al, 2009). They are recurring regularities or trends in a person (Colquitt et al, 2009). There are a number of theories on personality traits. Some are: Hippocrates (460-370 BC) Four Temperaments, Allport (1897- 1967), Cattell’s 16PF test, Eysenck (1916-1997), Big Five Model.
CHAPTER THREE
METHODOLOGY AND ACADEMIC PROFILE
Introduction
Methodology typically refers to the techniques that are used to conduct research. This include data collection instruments such as questionnaires, interviews or observation as well as sampling procedures and statistical techniques for organizing and interpreting unstructured data (Bryman 2008). This chapter spells out the approach to the research. It seeks to establish sound reasoning in linking the steps employed to answer the research questions and to achieve the objectives of the research. It discusses the methods that have been considered for this research study. This details the steps the author of this research took in order to accomplish the study. The said steps then include the collating procedure of the facts and figures that is required in the delivery and completion of the research study. It also presents the manner in which these facts and figures will be utilized and combined in the study and at the same time, detail how the research study develops and progress to answer the aims and objectives to be able to read the conclusion. It examines the research design, the sampling techniques adopted, the data collection instruments employed, an overview of the methods used in data analysis, issues of confidentiality and a profile of the study area.
Research Design
Research design is the plan and structure of investigation so conceived as to obtain answers to research questions. A quantitative approach was followed. Burns and Grove (1993) define quantitative research as a formal, objective, systematic process to describe and test relationships and examine cause and effect interactions among variables.
A descriptive survey design was used. A survey is used to collect original data for describing a population too large to observe directly (Mouton 1996). A survey obtains information from a sample of people by means of self-report, that is, the people respond to a series of questions posed by the investigator (Polit &Hungler 1993). In this study the information was collected through self-administered questionnaires distributed personally to the subjects by the researcher.
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
Introduction
This chapter presents analysis and the discussion of the data collected from the field survey. The objective of the study is to determine the effect of personality traits and its impact on the academic performance of staff at Chamba in the Nanumba North Municipality of Northern region as the case study. This chapter thus depicts the findings which seek to answer the research questions against the background of the objectives of the study. Data gathered from the field survey was analyzed using
Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software and Microsoft excel spreadsheet (2010). The SPSS was used for data transformation, running of cross tabulation, percentages, ratios and the regression analysis while the Microsoft excel was used for designing bar graphs, histograms and pie charts. The following outlines 145 responses received from the 150 questionnaires administered.
Biographical Information of Respondents
The biographical information of the respondents was analysed according to rank, gender, age, qualification, functional area of work and length of service. The respondents that participated in the study were all staff of Chamba in the Nanumba North Municipality of Northern region working at various departments.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Introduction
The chapter gives a summary on the findings and analysis made on the data gathered, the necessary recommendations on personality and academic performance at Chamba in the Nanumba North Municipality of Northern region using the performance appraisal measures at Chamba in the Nanumba North Municipality of Northern region .
Summary of findings
The study was conducted to analyze the effect of personality traits on academic achievement in Chamba in the Nanumba North Municipality of Northern region . One hundred and fifty (150) respondents who work at Chamba in the Nanumba North Municipality of Northern region were engaged in the study; however, responses were received from one hundred and forty five (145) respondents. These students were from the various departments in Chamba in the Nanumba North Municipality of Northern region . The study was used to measure the personality of individuals, based on the five-factor model of personality, which includes the dimensions of Extraversion, Neuroticism, Agreeableness, Openness to experience and Conscientiousness. The five personality dimensions were each divided into a five point likert scale ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree using 145 students based on Performance Appraisal measures at Chamba in the Nanumba North Municipality of Northern region by supervisors. The following findings were brought to fore after the study.
Identification of Individual personality traits
The study revealed the five personality traits, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness, openness to experience and neuroticism were seen to be exhibited by the different individuals among the respondents at Chamba in the Nanumba North Municipality of Northern region and this confirms the study by (McCrae &Costa, 1997) that among every group of students there is the probability that they will all have at least one of the five traits since the five personality traits have a genetic basis that they are probably inherited.
The most predictive personality trait factor
Among the five traits in the study, conscientiousness scored the highest since majority (80-85%) strongly agreed to traits conscientiousness. The conscientious students were purposeful, strong-willed and determined. They manifested are achievement oriented (hardworking and persistent), dependable (responsible and careful) and orderly (planful and organised). This was shown in the regression analysis proving that conscientiousness has effect on the academic performance.
Effects of Personality Traits on Academic achievement
The study revealed after conducting the regression analysis using the five personality traits as the independent variables and academic achievement that individual personality traits have effects on academic achievement in the public sector.
The study showed that personality traits accounts for 68% of the variance in academic achievement in Chamba in the Nanumba North Municipality of Northern region as measured by the samples used. The F-statistics value of 5.6 shows that the variables are statistically significant and that the individual variables had
their own effects. It was seen that only two variable are significant. Thus Conscientiousness and Extroversion were the most effective on academic achievement at Chamba in the Nanumba North Municipality of Northern region and among them Conscientiousness is the best predictor of academic performance in Chamba in the Nanumba North Municipality of Northern region since it recorded the highest parameter rating. A possible explanation for the lack of relationships between some personality traits and task performance is that the tasks of students in the public sector organisations are well-defined, with relatively low autonomy allowed. According to Barrick (2001), personality dimensions are most likely to affect academic performance in situations where autonomy is high.
Conclusion
The public sector has a lot of people that are working there as such their personality traits should be checked. The current study showed that in every school there will be different character traits that might influence academic performance in the school.
A personality type play an important role in an student academic performance, as measured by standard measures of students’ performance and has got great implications for academic success. Personality traits are expressed in skills, which are in turn reflected in strategies and eventually produce a better academic outcome (De Raad & Schouwenburg, 1996). Therefore, an understanding of the students’ personality traits becomes an important pedagogical tool. Understanding the students’ personality traits in which students gather and process information (manners and ways) can lead to more effective pedagogies that will benefit both students and the school. Therefore, the personality trait that impact on students’ performance at Chamba in the Nanumba North Municipality of Northern region is Conscientiousness.
Recommendations
Performance Appraisal
The study revealed that Personality Traits of students at Chamba in the Nanumba North Municipality of Northern region has not been critically looked into especially its bearing on academic performance. It is therefore recommended that the Performance Appraisal should be designed in such a way it incorporates their traits so that objectives sets would be easily achievable due to fact that assignment would be rightly assigned and executed. Again, it will help the Human Resource Department draw out training and development to ensure effective and efficient use of resources.
Execution of assignment
It was found out of the study that Conscientiousness and Extroversion has a positive effect on academic performance on students at Chamba in the Nanumba North Municipality of Northern region , it is therefore recommended that during assignment execution the Teacher should first consider students with these traits in assignment execution in order for the rest to follow suit.
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