Personality Development in English Medium and Odia Medium School Children

Abstract

The present study was designed to examine the differences between the children taught in English medium and those taught in Odia medium schools along the various personality dimensions. For this purpose, a sample of 40 children studying in English medium and 40 in Odia medium school, 20 each from grade IV (aged 8-9 years) and grade VI (aged 10-11 years) were administered the Children’s Personality Questionnaire (Porter & Cattell, 1972). Statistical analyses of the data using 2 (Medium of Instruction) X 2 (Grade) ANOVA revealed significant differences in some of the personality factors suggesting that the English medium school children are more intelligent, impatient, dependent, guarded, tender-minded, forthright, and careless of social rules than their Odia medium counterparts. They tend to show off a lot to get important positions and prefer to act individualistically. Grade VI children were found to be more intelligent, assertive and patient than the grade IV children. So far as intelligence is concerned with increased years of exposure to English medium schooling the gap between the two groups widen. The results were interpreted in terms of the differential curriculum and the teaching-learning environments of both types of schools. Keywords: Personality; Personality factors; Medium of Instruction; Bilingualism; Mother tongue.