Campus Location

Dallas Campus (Online)

Date of Award

Summer 6-2019

Document Type

Dissertation

Department

Organizational Leadership

Degree Name

Doctor of Education

Committee Chair or Primary Advisor

Dr. Irma Harper

Second Committee Member or Secondary Advisor

Dr. Leah Wickersham-Fish

Third Committee Member or Committee Reader

Dr. Karen Maxwell

Abstract

The problem that drove this study was the large number of students experiencing low levels of academic engagement. This level of engagement decreases as students progress from elementary to high school. The purpose of the qualitative study was to gain a deeper understanding of specific teacher personality traits and how teachers and students in the local setting perceived those traits impacting student engagement. This qualitative holistic case study was conducted through observations of high school teachers and semistructured interviews with high school teachers and students. The sample population included high school students and teachers in a local high school in the Pike’s Peak region of Colorado. The findings indicated that both teachers and students perceived the traits of extraversion and agreeableness as the most important to creating student engagement. The observations of high school teachers seemed to indicate that while extroversion and agreeableness were important to creating engagement, engagement was usually not lasting; rather, conscientiousness was the trait that proved to be the most significant in creating lasting student engagement. The findings suggested that the teachers who utilize the traits of extraversion and agreeableness engage students in a more effective way when compared to those who use other traits. However, teachers who are organized and efficient are able to create more lasting student engagement in the classroom.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

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