Aging, personality, and teaching aptitude in school grade physical education teachers

Abstract

Background and Study Aim. The primary objectives of the research were to examine the impact of aging on teaching aptitude, explore the association between personality traits and teaching effectiveness, and identify potential interactions between age, personality, and teaching aptitude. Material and Methods. Data were collected through standardized measures assessing teaching aptitude, personality traits, and demographic information. An intentional sampling with a survey group size of 283 physical education teachers (28.6% Female) including Trained Graduate Teachers (26.5%) and Post Graduate Teachers (73.5%) respectively. One-way analysis of variance, Pearson correlation coefficient, Hierarchical Regression, and mediation methods were used to analyze the obtained data. Results. Teaching aptitude was negatively related to chronological age (male, r = -.296, female, r = -.43), teaching experience (male, r = -.343, Female, r = -.326), and neuroticism (male, r = -.408, female, r = -.399). Extraversion, Openness, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness were positively related to teaching aptitude. Hierarchical Regression shows that gender has not explained significant variation among teaching aptitude after controlling the effects of personality traits and age (R2 square changes = .004). However, personality has partial mediating effects on the direct relationship between age and teaching aptitude. Conclusions. Teaching aptitude decreases with age in both genders. The decreasing teaching aptitude with age has significant implications on the education system. However, the personality traits of the teachers also changed with age. Teachers gained more neuroticism as aged. It is essential to identify the factors contributing to this phenomenon and develop strategies to mitigate its effects.