Personality in the classroom: Interactions of parental SES and students’ Big Five in predicting school performance

Abstract

While socioeconomic status (SES) and personality have both been identified as relevant predictors of academic achievement, little is known about their possible interplay in predicting school performance. The present study used the latent moderated structural equations (LMS) method to investigate latent interactions between familial SES and parent-rated Big Five in a sample of German high school students (N = 3,043). Personality ratings administered in grade 7 were used to predict changes in school performance 2 years later under control for previous performance. Openness and Conscientiousness positively predicted German as well as mathematics grades over and above fluid intelligence, parental SES and competence measures. Openness and Conscientiousness also showed positive interactions with SES in line with the Matthew effect hypothesis. Their association with school performance was partly mediated by students’ competences. This evidence might be particularly relevant for planning school support programs and interventions targeting background disadvantages as well as teacher training.Plain Language SummaryUnderstanding why students from wealthier families tend to receive better grades can be helped by considering students’ personality. This study used parental reports on their offspring’s personality as well as a measure of the socioeconomic status of the family to investigate whether they are relevant independently and if they have joint relevance for the grades that students receive in high school. Openness and Conscientiousness had both independent effects and also boosted the positive influence of familial socioeconomic status. Part of the association of Openness and Conscientiousness and school grades was based on students’ competences. More open and conscientious students might be rewarded more strongly for their competences and this could contribute to the benefit students with privileged socioeconomic status have in the classroom. These insights might be relevant for training new teachers and for the planning of support programs that aim at helping children from less privileged families.