Openness as Correlate of Academic Achievement: A Case of Senior School Students in North Central Nigeria

Abstract

In this study, openness as correlate of academic achievement: a case of senior school students in north central Nigeria was investigated. The study is guided by one research question, and one hypothesis formulated and tested. Three research instruments, namely, Big Five Personality Inventory (BFI), Mathematics Achievement Test (MAT) and English Language Achievement Test (ELAT) were used for data collection.  The BFI, MAT and ELAT were administered to 1061 students drawn from schools across North-Central States of Nigeria. The collected data were analyzed using Pearson product moment correlation to answer research question on the basis of the values of r (coefficient of correlation). Correlation coefficient of a value below 0.50 was considered low while any above 0.50 was considered high. The formulated hypothesis was tested at 0.05 level of significance by comparing the p-value (probability values) of Pearson’s product moment correlation obtained from SPSS application with the significance level at 0.05.   Findings reveal that there is a significant relationship between personality trait of openness and academic achievement of senior secondary school students in north central Nigeria. Based on the findings, the study recommends that schools should encourage activities that foster creativity, curiosity, and a willingness to explore new ideas, such as project-based learning, debates, and research-oriented tasks.