Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 English Language & Literature Department, University of Tehran, Tehran.

2 English Language & Literature Department, Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

The present study aimed to explore whether there is any significant relationship between Iranian EFL teachers’ traits in terms of personality type and their classroom management orientation. To this end, 130 EFL teachers from private language institutes and schools participated in this study. Three data collection instruments were used: a) personal demographic questionnaire, b) Attitudes and Beliefs on Classroom Control inventory, and c) Five Factor Model personality questionnaire. The results showed that, out of five factors of personality trait and three factors of classroom management orientation, there were two significant relationships; there was a significant relationship between conscientiousness personality trait and instructional classroom management orientation, and there was also a significant relationship between conscientiousness and behavioral classroom management. No other significant relationship was found between other factors of personality and classroom management. The findings of this research can help raise awareness of teachers and teacher trainers alike of teacher personality traits and their possible relationship with classroom management orientation (of teachers).

Keywords

Main Subjects

Akbari, R., Mirhassani, A., & Bahri, H. (2005). The relationship between teaching style and personality type of Iranian EFL teachers. Iranian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 8(1), 1-22.
Allport, G. W. (1961). Pattern and growth in personality. New York, NY: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc.
Asadollahi, F. (2012). On the Relationship between Iranian EFL Teachers’ Classroom Management Orientations and Teaching Style (Unpublished Master of Arts thesis). Shahid Rajaee Teacher Training University.
Ayalew, Z. (2014). An Assessment of Classroom Management Practices in Gulele Sub-City Government Secondary Schools (Master of Arts thesis). Addis Ababa University.
Barrack, M. R., & Mount, M. K. (1991). The Big Five personality dimension and job performance: A meta-analysis. Personnel Psychology (44), 1-26.
Brophy, J. (1986). Classroom management techniques. Education and Urban Society, 18(2), 182-194.
Brown, H. D. (2007). Teaching by principles; An Interactive Approach to Language Pedagogy (3rd Ed.). White Plains: Pearson.
Burkett, M. C. (2011). Relationships among teachers’ personality, leadership style, and efficacy of classroom management (Doctoral dissertation), The University of Southern Mississippi.
Chambers, S., Henson, R., & Sienty, S. (2001). Personality and teaching efficacy as predictors of classroom control orientation in beginning teachers. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Southwest Educational Research Association, New Orleans, LA.
Costa, P.T. Jr., & McCrae, R.R. (1995). Domains and facets: Hierarchical personality assessment using the Revised NEO Personality Inventory, Journal of Personality Assessment, (64), 21–50.
Doyle, W. (1980). Classroom management. West Lafayette, Indiana: Kappa Delta.
Gerrig, R., J. (2013). Psychology and life (20th edition). United States of America: Pearson Education.
Glasser, W. (1986). Control theory in classroom. New York: Harper & Row.
Goldberg, L. R. (1990). An alternative “Description of Personality”: the Big Five Factor structure. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 59 (6), 1216-1229.
Graziano, W. G., & Eisenberg, N. (1997). Agreeableness: A dimension of personality. Handbook of personality (pp. 795-816). San Diego, CA, US: Academic Press.
Hough, L. M. (1992). The “Big Five” personality variables construct confusion: Description versus prediction. Human Performance, 5, 139-155.
Khan, A., Shah, I. M., Khan, S., & Gul, S. (2012). The moderating effects of resources on stress & performance. International Review of Social Sciences and Humanities, 2(2), 10-23.
Kokkinos, C. M. (2007). Job stressors, personality and burnout in primary school teachers. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 77, 229-243.
Martin, N., Yin, Z., & Baldwin, B. (1998). Construct validation of the Attitudes and Beliefs on Classroom Control Inventory. Journal of Classroom Interaction, 33(2), 6-15.
Martin, N., & Shoho, A. (2005). Teacher experience, training, and age: The influence of teacher characteristics on classroom management style. ERIC Document Reproduction Service, No. ED 440963.
Martin, S. D., (2004). Finding balance: impact of classroom management conceptions on developing teacher practice. Teaching and Teacher Education, 20, 405-422.
McCrae, R. R., & Costa, P. T, (1991). The NEO personality inventory: Using the five factor model in counseling. Journal of Counseling and Development, 69, 367-376.
McCrae, R., & Costa, p. T., Jr. (1997). Personality trait structure as a human universal. National Institute on Aging. 52(5), 509-516.
McKenny, C. (2008). The Personality of the Teacher. Chicago: Row, Peterson & Co.
Mirzaee, H. (2014). On the Relationship between Reflective Teaching, Teacher Personality, Classroom Management and Teaching Experience (Unpublished Master of Arts thesis), Tarbiat Modarres University.
Mischel, W., Shoda, Y., & Ayduk, O. (2008). Introduction to personality (8th Ed). United States of America: Jay O’Callaghan.
Pervin, L. A., & John, O. P. (1999). Handbook of personality: theory and research (2nd ed.). New York/ London: The Guilford Press.
Roberts, T., Mowen, D., Edgar, D., Harlin, J., & Briers, G. (2007). Relationships between personality type and teaching efficacy of student teachers. Journal of Agricultural Education, 48(2), 92-102.
Rushton, S., Morgan, J., & Richard, M. (2007). Teacher’s Myers-Briggs personality profiles: Identifying teacher personality traits. Teaching and Teacher Education, 23, 432-441.
Salgado, J. F. (1997). The five factor model of personality and job performance in the European Community. Journal of Applied Psychology, 82, 30-43.
Tauber, R. T. (2007). Classroom management: Sound theory and effective practice (4th Ed.). United States of America, USA: Praeger Publishers.
Unal, Z., & Unal, A. (2012). The impact of years of teaching experience on the classroom management approaches of elementary school teachers. International Journal of Instruction, 5(2), 41-60.
Wolfgang, C. H. (2005). Solving discipline problems: Strategies for classroom teachers (5th Ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Zhang, L. F. (2002). Thinking styles and the big five personality traits. Educational Psychology. 22(1), 17-31.
Zhang, L. F. (2007). Do personality traits make a difference in teaching styles among Chinese high school teachers?. Personality and Individual Differences, 43(4), 669-679.