RESEARCH PAPER
Big Five personality traits among Polish students facing the transformations of the education system
 
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1
Institute of Psychology, Faculty of Education and Psychology, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, Lublin, Poland
 
2
Department of Psychology, Institute of Pedagogy and Psychology, Jan Kochanowski University, Kielce, Poland
 
 
Submission date: 2019-02-14
 
 
Final revision date: 2019-04-29
 
 
Acceptance date: 2019-05-06
 
 
Online publication date: 2019-06-04
 
 
Publication date: 2019-06-24
 
 
Current Issues in Personality Psychology 2019;7(2):98-108
 
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
Background:
The aim of the present study was to analyze personality traits in the Big Five Model among Polish students in early adolescence, who were on the verge of introduction of a new reform in the Polish education system. The article presents a summary of the results of the first of the planned three stages of the longitudinal study.

Participants and procedure:
The participants of the study were 910 people at the sixth grade of primary schools, aged from 11 to 13 (M = 12.40, SD = 0.58), and at the first grade of junior high schools, aged from 12 to 14 (M = 13.40, SD = 0.53) in the school year 2016/2017. The analysis of personality traits was carried out using the Picture Based Personality Survey for Children (PBPS-C v1).

Results:
The results showed that young people from primary schools are more conscientious and open to experience than their older schoolmates. Girls from primary schools are more conscientious and open to new experience than their older peers; and boys from primary schools are more conscientious than their older schoolmates. Gender and level of education turned out to be sig-nificant predictors of some personality traits. Extraversion is associated with boys while neuroticism and agreeableness are as-sociated with girls. Level of education is associated with openness to experience and conscientiousness.

Conclusions:
The results are discussed in the context of possible practical rearing influence aimed at supporting young people’s development in the context of educational changes that they are about to face.

 
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