Abstract:
Research suggest that personality is a strong predictor of academic achievement at
school level and beyond, but also at societal level as it serves as the building blocks to future success and economic advancement. The purpose of this study was to
investigate the effect of personality traits on academic performance in the subjects of
English and Mathematics at grade 9 level. It also aimed to contribute to the limited
research done on this topic specifically in Namibia. Personality traits were compared
to participants’ academic performance in term 1 in the subjects of English and
Mathematics. Results indicated that there was no statistically significant relationship
between personality traits and performance in English. The personality traits of
Thinking, Sensing and Perception showed statistical significance to performance in
Mathematics, whereas the personality traits of Feeling, Intuition and Judgement
showed no statistical significance to performance in Mathematics. This information
may inform teaching approaches and could also be beneficial to Educational
Psychologist as it could partially explain why some learners do not perform in
Mathematics.
