IMPACT OF PERSONALITY TRAITS ON THE ACADEMIC SUCCESS OF UNIVERSITY UNDERGRADUATES: A CASE STUDY OF UNIVERSITY OF JAFFNA USING BIG FIVE PERSONALITY TRAITS THEORY

Abstract

During the last several decades, researchers have investigated relationships between numerous predictors and academic abilities. However, the present literature does not provide empirical evidence of predictors of academic success among the higher education students in Jaffna. The objective of this study was to identify the impact of big-five personality traits of the higher education students on their academic success. The problem focused in this study was that whether big-five personality traits can predict academic success of the students in the University of Jaffna. Big-five traits include extrovertedness, conscientiousness, openness, agreeableness and neuroticism. The two factors focused on measuring academic success were academic performance (GPA) and academic abilities (speaking, reading and writing, time management and IT skills). 172 undergraduate students from the Faculty of Management Studies and Commerce and Faculty of Arts, University of Jaffna were randomly selected as the sample. The sample consists of 83 males and 89 females. Primary data were gathered using well-developed questionnaires. Correlation and Multiple regression analyses were used to analyze the data. Results revealed that extrovertedness, conscientiousness and openness were positively associated with students’ academic performance while neuroticism and agreeableness were negatively associated with academic performance. In addition, in this study, researchers could not identify a significant relationship between big-five traits and academic abilities. The findings reported from this study bring a considerable understanding of the relationship between personality traits and academic performance (GPA). Knowledge of this relationship is vital for teachers and management, since academic performance may be increased through developing certain personality traits among the students. Future research could examine these issues among the students of different disciplines like medicine, engineering etc. Further, the other personality traits that can influence students’ academic success could be examined by future researchers.

Key Words: Big-Five Personality, Academic Success, Academic Abilities, Academic Performance

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