Instructor personality matters for student evaluations: Evidence from two subject areas at university

Instructors are under pressure to produce excellent outcomes in students. Although the contribution of student personality on student outcomes is well established, the contribution of instructor personality to student outcomes is largely unknown.

This study examined the influence of instructor personality (as reported by both students and instructors themselves) on student educational outcomes at university.

Mathematics and psychology university students (N = 515) and their instructors (n = 45) reported their personality under the Big Five framework.

Multilevel regressions were conducted to predict each outcome from instructor personality, taking into account the effects of student gender, age, cognitive ability, and personality, as well as instructor gender and age. Student-reports of instructor personality predicted student evaluations of teaching but not performance self-efficacy or academic achievement. Instructor self-reports did not predict any of the outcomes. Stronger associations between student-reports and the outcomes than instructor self-reports could be explained by students providing information on both the predictor and the outcome variables, as well as a greater number of raters providing information on instructor personality. Different domains of the instructor Big Five were important for different element of student evaluations of teaching.

The study highlights the importance of studying instructor personality, especially through other-reports, to understand students' educational experiences. This has implications for how tertiary institutions should use and interpret student evaluations.