The structure of personality of a good teacher from students perspective according to the Big-Five Model

Abstract

This paper deals with the identification of desirable personality characteristics of teachers from students perspective in the Big-Five Model of personality from a phenomenological approach. The description of personality of a good teacher was obtained from students of the University of Novi Sad (n=443). The Big Five Inventory (BFI) was applied with the instruction to respond to claims as a good teacher would answer. The students' estimates indicate that a good teacher is expected to have lower emotional instability, but more pronounced extroversion, openness to experience, cooperativeness (pleasantness) and consciousness with regard to referent values in general population. For the domain of neuroticism, the difference is either small or medium in size, for cooperativeness of a medium size, and for extroversion, consciousness and openness to experience the difference is large. The gender of students does not influence their expectations. Methodological dilemmas in this area of research and implications of the results for the selection and professional development of teachers are discussed. © 2014 by the Serbian Psychological Association.