Personality and performance among secondary school students in Rubaga Division

Abstract

This study examined the effect of personality on academic performance. Participants were O’level students in Lubaga Division aged between 12-15 years, who voluntarily participated in the study. They were asked to complete a personality questionnaire that was both open-ended and closedended to draw a correlation between personality and academic performance academic performance. Performance was measured in term students personal grading of their academic grades and level of satisfaction with the same results. The correlation type of descriptive research design was used for the study. With a sample size of 300 students from across different schools in the Lubaga division, the results showed that Personality traits of (openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and Neuroticism) were negatively correlated with academic performance. The findings imply that school authority should construct learning environments that take into consideration students’ individual differences and strengths. Appropriate counseling interventions should be used to assist students experiencing worry, anxiety, frustration and stress to deal with their concerns.