Student achievement is a significant issue for American Indian communities across the country (State Advisory Council on Indian Education, 2006). This is particularly true for American Indian students in North Carolina who represent the largest percentage of dropouts in that state (Feaste, 2002). Student performance is based on many different factors, of particular interest to this researcher is the relationship between personality and student performance. This study had two aims: a) to examine the development of personality across adolescence and b) to examine the relationship between personality and school success among American Indian youth. This study examined two models of personality, ego development and the five factors. The results of this study indicate that ego development increases significantly across adolescence. Three of Hauser's (1991) theoretical trajectories describe ego development among participants in this study. With the exception of Extraversion, the five factors remained stable across adolescence. Ego development, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, and Openness to Experience were significantly related to school performance; however, the direction of these relationships was not entirely expected. This study highlights the important role individual differences in personality play in student performance. Teachers should therefore consider individual differences in personality among their students when planning lessons and executing these lessons in the classroom because differences in personality affect classroom learning / acase@tulane.edu
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:TULANE/oai:http://digitallibrary.tulane.edu/:tulane_25213 |
| Date | January 2009 |
| Contributors | Weiss, Danielle Anna (Author), Newman, Denise (Thesis advisor) |
| Publisher | Tulane University |
| Source Sets | Tulane University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | Access requires a license to the Dissertations and Theses (ProQuest) database., Copyright is in accordance with U.S. Copyright law |
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