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Teachers’ personality traits and students’ motivation: A structural equation modeling analysis

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Abstract

One of the most prominent factors in developing more effective teaching and learning strategies is the association between personality traits and motivation. The current research examined the relationship between the Big Five personality traits and students’ motivation. Thirteen English teachers and 375 high school students participated in this study. The teachers completed the Neuroticism-Extraversion-Openness Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) and the students filled out Language Learning Orientations Scale – Intrinsic Motivation, Extrinsic Motivation, and Amotivation Subscales (LLOS – IEA). The results showed some significant relationships between the Big Five traits and the subscales of motivation. Particularly, teachers’ conscientiousness personality trait had a positive effect on students’ intrinsic- motivation- knowledge. In addition, teachers’ extraversion personality trait had a negative effect on students’ intrinsic- motivation- accomplishment, and knowledge. The results of this study can help the teachers to know how to behave in the classroom. More specifically, the study shows exactly which personality traits will result in increasing or decreasing students’ motivation.

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Notes

  1. Sánchez-Franco et al. (2009) argue that PLS uses factor scores of subjects for analysis unlike multiple regressions. Computing the reliability, the factor loading of each indicator should be taken into account. Cronbach alpha coefficient gives equal weight to indicators and shows less reliability, because of that ƿc will be applied.

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  1. English Department, Vali-e-Asr University of Rafsanjan, Rafsanjan, Iran

    Soniya Khalilzadeh

  2. Department of English Language and Literature, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

    Ali Khodi

  3. Department of English language and literature, University of Neyshabur, Neyshabur, Iran

    Ali Khodi

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  1. Soniya Khalilzadeh
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Table 7 Path coefficients and their significance assessments of the final structural model
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Khalilzadeh, S., Khodi, A. Teachers’ personality traits and students’ motivation: A structural equation modeling analysis. Curr Psychol 40, 1635–1650 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-018-0064-8

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