Exploring the Relationship Between Teacher Personality Traits and Teachers' Attitudes and

119 Pages·2016·0.51 MB·English

Loyola University Chicago
Loyola eCommons
Dissertations Theses and Dissertations
2010
Exploring the Relationship Between Teacher Personality Traits
and Teachers' Attitudes and Practices Towards Family-School
Partnerships
Anna Rawlings Hamilton
Loyola University Chicago
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Recommended Citation
Hamilton, Anna Rawlings, "Exploring the Relationship Between Teacher Personality Traits and Teachers'
Attitudes and Practices Towards Family-School Partnerships" (2010). Dissertations. 134.
https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_diss/134
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LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO

EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TEACHER

PERSONALITY TRAITS AND TEACHERS' ATTITUDES AND PRACTICES

TOWARDS FAMILY-SCHOOL PARTNERSHIPS

A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO

THE FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL

IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

PROGRAM IN SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGY

BY

ANNA RAWLINGS HAMILTON

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

AUGUST 2010
Copyright by Anna Rawlings Hamilton, 2010
All rights reserved.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

There is so much that went into the completion of this dissertation. The
following pages contain much more than a culmination of years of study. Captured in
this work are also my relationships with numerous people and the unconditional support
I received from my professors, family, and friends. I would like to express my
appreciation and gratitude to the following:
To my dissertation chair, Dr. David Shriberg, for your support and
encouragement throughout my years of study at Loyola. Your dedication to excellent
scholarship has been so inspiring. Thank you for your contributions to both my
professional and personal growth.
To my committee members, Dr. Martha Ellen Wynne and Dr. Janet Pierce-
Ritter, for your valuable knowledge, constructive feedback, encouragement, and
precious time.
To my classmates, Anne Walsh, Jennifer James, Amy Horwitz, and Chris
Fallon, whose abilities to truly empathize and always make me laugh were invaluable.
To my beloved professor, Dr. Charles Thompson, for helping me realize I was
meant to pursue a career working with children and their families.
To my parents for loving me unconditionally. Thank you for believing in me,
encouraging me, and always knowing the right things to say.
iii
Finally, I want to thank my wonderful husband, Joel. Without you, this would
not have been possible. Thank you for being my cheerleader and sharing in my dream.
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For my loving parents and husband
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS iii

LIST OF TABLES vii

LIST OF FIGURES ix

ABSTRACT x

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1
Statement of Purpose 3
Research Questions 5

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW 6
Overview of Family-School Partnerships Literature 6
Definition of family-school partnerships 7
Brief history of family-school partnerships 11
Components of effective collaboration 15
Benefits to children when families and schools work together 16
Teachers’ perceptions and attitudes towards collaboration 19
Overview of Personality Literature 21
General overview of personality theory 22
Development of a Five-Factor Model (FFM) 25
Description of the Big Five 28
Measuring the Big Five 32
Overview of Effective Collaboration and Personality 33
Development of family-school partnerships and the possible influence of
personality 33
Components of effective collaboration and personality traits 35
Rationale for the present study 36

CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY 37
Participants 38
Description and demographic profile of the participants 38
Sampling, Measures and Procedure 41
Sampling 41
Measures 42
Procedure 44
Data Analysis 45

CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS 48
Research Question One 49
Research Question Two 54
Research Question Three 61
vi
Research Question Four 66

CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION 68
Summary 68
Discussion of Findings and Implications 69
The impact of teachers’ personality on attitudes and practices towards family
school partnerships 69
Impact of various demographic variables on teachers’ attitudes and behaviors
towards family-school partnerships 74
Impact of a cultural match on teachers’ attitudes and behaviors towards family-
school partnerships 76
Comparison of teachers’ FFM personality profile compared to that of the
general population 78
Limitations 79
Future Directions 80

APPENDIX A: PARTNERSHIP MEASURES 83

APPENDIX B: EXAMPLES OF ITEMS FROM COSTA AND MCCRAE’S
(1992) REVISED NEO-FFI 87

APPENDIX C: DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION 89

APPENDIX D: PARTICIPANT RECRUITMENT EMAIL 93

APPENDIX E: PARTICIPANT FOLLOW-UP E-MAIL 95

REFERENCE LIST 97

VITA 105

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LIST OF TABLES

Table Page

1. Demographic Characteristics 40

2. Classroom Characteristics 40

3. Geographical Distribution 42

4. Correlational Findings Between Big Five Personality Dimensions and
Partnership Measures 50

5. Regression Calculations for the Big Five and Partnership Measures 51

6. Regression Model for Partnership Practices 53

7. Analysis of Variance Findings for Demographic Variables and
Partnership Measures 55

8. Tukey’s HSD Comparison of Teacher Endorsement and Reported
Partnership Practices 58

9. Tukey’s HSD Comparison of Age Range of Students Taught and
Reported Partnership Practices 59

10. Tukey’s HSD Comparison of Geographic Areas and Reported Attitudes 60

11. Descriptive Information about SES Match 62

12. SES Match Categories 63

13. Racial/Ethnic Match Categories 64

14. Analysis of Variance Calculations for SES and Racial/Ethnicity Match
and Partnership Measures 65

15. Analysis of Variance Calculations for Combined SES and Racial/
Ethnicity Match and Partnership Measures 66
viii
Table Page

16. Participant t-Scores for Combined and Female Only Norms 67

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