The Role of Big Five Personality Factors in Teaching: Implications to Performance Management in Education

Abstract

Teaching is considered as the noblest of all professions. Any attribute of a teacher will certainly affect his or her performance inside the classroom. It is interesting to know what these attributes are and how these may imply an effect to the quality of teaching performance. This study aimed to determine the personality factors of the faculty of Southern Luzon State University (SLSU), Lucban, Quezon using the Five-Factor Model. This descriptive-correlational research involved 174 respondents who were selected using the stratified proportional sampling, used the Big Five Inventory (BFI) and the existing Performance Evaluation System (PES) of SLSU as a measure of their teaching performance. The results revealed that there were personality factors that may influence teaching performance. In teaching commitment, conscientiousness (r=.214; p<.01) and agreeableness (r=.157; p<.01) were found to be associated. Also, knowledge of the subject and conscientiousness (r=.206; p<.01) were correlated. There is a link between teaching for independent learning and extraversion (r=.177; p<.05) while the same area of performance was revealed to have negative correlation with neuroticism (r=-.200; p<.01). Meanwhile, management of the learning process was attributed to teachers’ conscientiousness (r=.203; p<.01); extraversion (r=.150; p<.05); agreeableness (r=.173; p<.05); and neuroticism (r=.152; p<.05). Lastly, in the overall performance of the teachers, conscientiousness (r=.151; p<.05) and agreeableness (r=.157; p<.05) were the significant correlates. Implications for effective performance management for teachers were discussed and recommended.