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Information Sciences Letters

Information Sciences Letters

Abstract

Teachers who have self-efficacy will have greater motivation to perform the tasks assigned to them, and their beliefs in seeing themselves as more efficient are positively reflected on their job satisfaction. The present study aimed at revealing the role of the direct and indirect influences of general self-efficacy in the relationship between the Big Five (openness to experience, conscientiousness, Extraversion, neuroticism and agreeableness) and job satisfaction. Three tools were administered to 500 female students in the Early Childhood Sections at Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University; namely, the Big Five Inventory (BFI), the General Self-Efficacy Scale, and the Job-Satisfaction Scale. Data were statistically analyzed, and the hypotheses were tested using SPSS 20.0 and AMOS 20.0 (both developed by IBM). The results of the mediation analysis indicated that conscientiousness, agreeableness and Extraversion exhibited a direct influence on self-efficacy (the mediating variable). The values were ordered from the most influential to the least influential as follows: 0.021, 0.03, and 0.008, respectively. This indicated that conscientiousness is the variable that had the highest direct influence on self-efficacy, followed by agreeableness, and then extraversion, while openness to experience and neuroticism did not have any significant direct effect on self-efficacy. General self-efficacy had a direct effect on job satisfaction. The results of the study also indicated that self-efficacy partially mediated the relationship between personality traits (conscientiousness, agreeableness and extraversion) and job satisfaction. The values, from the most influential to the least influential, were 0.036, 0.046, and 0.008, respectively. Self-efficacy did not mediate the relationship between job satisfaction and both of openness to experience and neuroticism. The results of the study indicate that self-efficacy is an important mechanism for relating personality traits to job satisfaction. The study recommends that a teacher’s job satisfaction can be developed through some of the Big Five (conscientiousness, agreeableness and extraversion). It suggests that educational counselors in schools and universities should play an essential role in encouraging students to interact socially with their peers. It also directs the attention of faculty members who teach the communication skills course across the university faculties to focus on developing effective communication skills inside the classroom, especially for introvert students, and varying their methods of teaching. The study suggests implementing training programs for university students in general, and for the students of the Faculties of Education, Early Childhood and Kindergarten in particular. Such programs should focus on developing the Big Five Personality Factors, particularly extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness and self-efficacy to improve their job satisfaction, something which enhances the quality of teaching and learning outcomes.

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