This article reports the results of a survey of 455 Polish primary school sixth-graders experiencing changes in the education system. The goal of the study was to identify the relationships between the Big Five personality traits, measured with the picture-based personality survey for children (PBPS-C) and locus of control, determined using the locus of control questionnaire (LOCQ). The results lead to the conclusion that primary school students do not have an established locus of control of either success or failure. There are also no significant differences between boys and girls in the way they interpret the causes of situations and events that happen to them. Boys, compared to girls, scored significantly higher on traits related to seeking and enjoying the company of others. On the other hand, girls exhibited significantly higher levels of traits responsible for increased anxiety than boys. The personality traits that correlated the strongest with locus of control were Conscientiousness, Openness to Experience, and Agreeableness. A regression model showed that locus of control of success was significantly affected by two traits: Extraversion and Conscientiousness. Locus of control of failure was significantly predicted by Extraversion, Openness to Experience, Agreeableness (positively), and Neuroticism (negatively). Regression model with gender as a moderator of relationships between personality traits and locus of control turned out to be insignificant.
Background: The aim of this study was to analyze locus of control in situations of successes and failures and personality traits in young people attending sport and non-sport classes. Based on a review of studies, it was presumed that young people who practice team sports have a higher internal locus of control, higher openness to experi-ence, higher conscientiousness, and higher emotional stability than their peers who do not practice sport.Participants and procedure: Young people who took part in the study were both those who attended schools with sport education programs and those who attended non-sport schools. 63 students of the sixth grade of primary school and the first grade of junior high school were surveyed (M = 12.60). Two groups were distinguished: students who followed an extended sports curriculum practicing football and basketball (n = 31), and those who followed a standard cur-riculum (n = 32). The Questionnaire for Locus of Control and the Picture Based Personality Survey for Children, based on the Big Five model, were used in the analyses.Results: The results of the studies partially confirmed the assumed hypotheses and showed connections between locus of control in situations of failure and openness to experience in the group of athletes.Conclusions: This study constitutes a summary of the first stage of a three-year longitudinal project. Conclusions from the study will allow characterization of developmental changes of locus of control and personality traits in young athletes. Assessment of personality profile constitutes help for sport psychology practitioners in preparing train-ing that uses accurate reinforcement systems corresponding with the traits of players that are members of a team.
This article reports the results of a longitudinal study on the development of context-specific locus of control related to situations of success and failure in Polish adolescents. The participants were 90 primary school students, including 30 who learned in integrated classrooms and 60 who went to non-integrated classes in schools with and without an inclusive curriculum, located in Lublin, Poland. The students were surveyed during a three-year schooling period (when they were in the sixth, seventh, and eighth grade). The research was carried out in the years 2016–2019. The Locus of Control Questionnaire (LOQ and LOQ-R) by Krasowicz-Kupis and Kurzyp-Wojnarska measured locus of control. These instruments measure generalized locus of control and allow the assessment of context-specific locus of control related to situations of success and failure, as well as school, parent, and peer settings. At the first stage of this study, students in non-integrated classrooms in schools without an inclusive curriculum were characterized by a more internal locus of control, both generalized and in situations of failure, compared to students of non-integrated classrooms in schools with an inclusive curriculum. At seventh grade, students of integrated classes were more external in situations related to their school activity, compared to their peers from non-integrated classrooms. Moreover, we observed developmental changes in locus of control of students from non-integrated classes but only those who attended schools with an integrated curriculum.
29 June 2020 in Scandinavian Journal of Psychology
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.