| As a means to enhance educational practices, much research has focused on identifying factors other than intelligence which can predict Academic Performance (AP). Personality is theorized to play a key role in understanding individual differences, especially in the area of school achievement. It has been consistently argued that Extraversion, one of the most strongly supported dimensions of personality, is directly related to the manner in which individuals approach a task.; Numerous studies have examined whether the Extraversion dimension of personality can significantly predict AP. Though this literature often yields a significant relationship, it is inconsistent in regards to the direction of the correlation. The research appears to suggest that there is a positive relationship between Extraversion and AP in elementary and middle school, while the relationship appears to become negative during the high school and college years. The evidence implies that the manner in which AP is measured impacts the direction of the relationship. There seems to be a positive relationship between Extraversion and AP when short-timed tasks are utilized as measures and a negative relationship when the measures of AP are not timed.; A meta-analysis was conducted on the literature relating Extraversion to AP. All eligible studies utilized an English speaking population and were based on investigations which were conducted from 1960 to present. Effect size data was determined based on the reported correlation coefficient. Data were analyzed utilizing the Comprehensive Meta-Analysis (CMA) Version 2 program.; Results indicate that data must be analyzed by grade in order to form homogeneous groups. Taking into consideration explanatory variables and removing outliers, homogeneous groups were formed within each grade level. In each cohesive group within the elementary and middle school grades, Extraversion was positively correlated with AP. The high school group was homogeneous when one outlier was removed and was positively correlated with AP. Significant results within the college group indicate that there is a negative correlation between AP and Extraversion. Variables which impacted this relationship included whether the measure of AP was timed, geographic location, measure of Extraversion and date of publication. Limitations and directions for future research are discussed. |
