How Personality Matters for Education Research

Abstract The field of personality psychology could contribute to the aims of educational research, but several misconceptions may hold back this synthesis. We address three “misconceptions” about personality psychology that are surprisingly pervasive outside of that field: that there are personality types, that personality is fixed, and that the existence of personality implies that situations are unimportant. We then cover four ways that personality psychology can assist educational aims: personality can be used to (1) boost our ability to accurately predict educational outcomes, (2) inform educational interventions, (3) support the academic development of all learners in personalised learning interventions, and (4) be employed as target outcomes for education. In the process, we show how personality relates to important educational outcomes, outline theoretical links with educationally relevant concepts like socio-emotional skills, and include an overview of current personality scales that can be used when getting started. Through this paper, we hope to stimulate and enthuse researchers to advance synthesis between the disciplines.