Abstract:

The current research aims to investigate the effects of pre-service teachers’ personality traits on their perceived teacher competencies. The quantitative study was conducted by employing a cross-sectional survey design with 206 teacher candidates who were preparing for Teacher Qualification Exam (KPSS) in 2013. The quantitative data were collected through two scales entitled ‘Adjective Based Personality Test’ (ABPT), and ‘Teachers’ Perception of Competence Scale’ (TPCS). The quantitative data were analyzed through utilizing a structural equation modeling (SEM) in AMOS 16.0 and employing path analysis at a significance level of .05. The findings illustrated that extraversion, neuroticism, agreeableness and conscientiousness have significant effects on teaching competencies. Specifically, extraversion has the biggest significant effect on teaching competencies; however, neuroticism has a negative significant effect. On the other hand, personal development was found to be the most influenced dimension of teaching competencies by personality traits.

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