PERSONALITY TRAITS AS CORRELATES OF SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE IN ANAMBRA STATE

Abstract

Students' academic achievement in English Language remains a central concern in secondary education, and understanding the psychological variables that influence it is essential. Personality traits, as enduring individual characteristics, are believed to play a role in shaping students' academic outcomes. The purpose of this study was to examine personality traits as correlates of secondary school students’ academic achievement in English language in Anambra State. Five research questions and five corresponding hypotheses were formulated and tested at a 0.05 level of significance. The study adopted a correlational research design. The population consisted of 10,436 Senior Secondary School Two (SS II) students across the six education zones in Anambra State. A cluster sampling technique was used to select 600 students who participated in the study. Two sets of questionnaires were used to collect data for the study including ‘Personality Inventory (PI), and Students’ Academic Achievement in English language. ‘Personality Inventory (PI) was validated by experts and subjected to reliability testing. A Cronbach Alpha coefficient of 0.73 was obtained, indicating good internal consistency. Data were analyzed using Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient to answer the research questions, while regression analysis was used to test the hypotheses. The findings revealed a low but significant positive correlation between Openness to Experience, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism with academic achievement in English Language. Conscientiousness showed a moderate and significant positive correlation with English Language achievement. Based on these findings, it was recommended among other that educators and school counsellors consider students’ personality traits when designing learning interventions and classroom activities to improve academic performance in English Language.