Determining students’ personality traits according to parental perspectives: A scale development study

Abstract

The educational community recognizes individual differences, but it is important to fully address them in educational settings. While there are existing studies on personality traits, none focus on the personality traits of students aged 6-18. This study aims to fill this gap, as personality traits significantly influence personal, academic, and professional life. Understanding student personalities allows for the development of more effective educational programs, facilitating their full potential. The study included parents of 2,229 students from a population of 16,505,271 aged 6-18 in Turkiye. Through exploratory factor analysis (EFA), a reliable 61-item 5-point Likert scale (α = .942) was derived. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed on a second dataset of 916 parents, resulting in 794 due to outliers. The Scale for Determining Student Personalities According to Parental Perspectives, with 16 sub-dimensions and 46 items, demonstrated good reliability (α = .948). The study’s findings are expected to hold significant implications for education, parenting, and child development