Keywords

Innovative Teaching Practices, Entrepreneur Skills, Personality Traits, Big Five Model, Management Graduates.

Introduction

The purpose of management education is to meet the requirements of industry who are looking for graduates with required skills and personality traits. However there are skills gaps and a mismatch between the outputs of higher education and the requirements of the jobs market. Personality is the sub-total of internal and external traits of an individual. Understanding the association between education imparted by the faculty and development of required skills and traits in students will guide the educators in choosing the most appropriate teaching pedagogy that can influence the personality traits and entrepreneur skills among young management graduates. The personality traits included the traits proposed by the big five Model such as Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, Emotional stability and Openness to experience. The entrepreneurial skills included the job-specific skills, leadership skills, soft skills, strategic insight and planning, communication skills, IT skills and customer service skills. The innovative teaching pedagogy included lessons through active real life situation, role plays, management games, recreational activities (physical and mental), formation of working clubs (literacy club, eco club, house club, sports club), learning through case study discussions, regular workshops on soft skills . The present study attempts to investigate the effect of changes in teaching pedagogy and will analyze how innovative teaching pedagogy adopted by the faculty in Business College can develop the personality traits and entrepreneurial skills among management graduates. Limitations and Recommendations are included at the end of the research shows in Figure 1.

Figure 1 Theoretical Framework

Literature Review

Significance of Big five Model

According to McCrae and Costa’s, the Big Five personality traits form part of a dynamic personality system. Conscientiousness has been linked to educational achievement and particularly to the will to achieve (Howard & Howard, 1998). The more conscientious a person is the more competent, dutiful, orderly, responsible and thorough he is. The persons with a tendency towards neuroticism are more worried, temperamental and prone to sadness (Howard & Howard, 1998). Emotional stability is related to calm, stable and relaxed persons, whereas neuroticism is linked to anger, anxiousness and depression (Boeree). People with a high openness have broader interests, are liberal and like novelty. This factor relates to intellect, openness to new ideas, cultural interests, educational aptitude and creativity (Howard & Howard, 1998). These individuals are cultured, esthetic, intellectual and open. (Boeree). The openness to experience can be connected to activities like writing, science and art (Wallach & Wing, 1969). Ozer & Benet-Martinez did mentioned in the statement that the Big Five traits which comprised of namely extraversion, agreeableness, conscientious, neuroticism and openness to experience, have been linked to wide range of entrepreneur skills development.

Association between Teaching Pedagogy, Personality Traits and Entrepreneur Skills Development:

Wen (2011) conducted a study named, “A study on relationship between personality traits and employment factors of college students” to investigate the relationship between personality traits and their employment factors of students at a college in Taiwan. It was highlighted that students who had experiences of participating in skills competitions exhibited a stronger leadership quality. The results revealed that male students were more adaptable to the external environment than female students. The study observed the importance of professional skills required by the job market by participating in various skills contests, which could help enhance students’ leadership competence and boost their confidence and competitiveness in the job market.

Claudia (2014) conducted a study, “The Importance of Role Play for Children's Development of Socio-Emotional Competencies” and stated that children learnt many skills and attitudes during role play. They learnt how to be co-operative, empathetic with others, express their feelings and emotions. They also learnt about other cultures and improve their language and movement skills. Role plays helped the teachers to correct student misbehaviour and supported the development of student personalities. Facilitating communication, the role-play proved to be a complete educational method that should be used in the learning process. Youn and Fumio (2014) conducted a survey, “The Effects of Personality Traits and Behavioural Characteristics on Schooling, Earnings and Career Promotions” and revealed by analyzing the Japanese and U.S. survey data with respect to labor market outcomes, in both Japan and the United States, conscientiousness seems to contribute to male earnings, whereas extraversion and emotional stability are more important predictors of female earnings. The overall findings suggest that personality traits are associated with educational and career success.

Chaudhary and Sinha (2015) conducted a study, “Relationship between Personality Traits, Academic Achievement and Salary: An Empirical Study in a Reputed B-School in Bangalore, India” to investigate if there was a correlation between the personality traits and academic achievement and career. The study was carried out in a reputed B-school in Bangalore (India). It observed that there were a wide range of personality traits which were expected to impact the performance of students, both in terms of academic achievement as well as money obtained during placements. It was also expected that the Personality Enhancement Program impacts academic achievement and salary. Bonney (2015) revealed in his study named, “Case Study Teaching Method Improves Student Performance and Perceptions of Learning Gains” that case studies should be considered as a preferred method for teaching about a variety of concepts.

City and Guilds (2017) The Kingdom requires an efficient and cost-effective workforce, across industries, and a consistent pipeline of productive workers, equipped with the right skills and capabilities. According to Vision (2030) “Saudi women are yet another great asset. With over 50 percent of university graduates being female, to develop their talents, invest in their productive capabilities and enable them to strengthen their future and contribute to the development of society and economy has become the priority of the education system in KSA.

From the above review of literature it can be concluded that innovativeness in teaching pedagogy plays a significant role in developing required traits and skills among students. Hence, the present study will examine and analyze the effect of innovative teaching pedagogy on the personality traits and entrepreneur skills among management graduates.

Objective:

1 To examine the impact of innovative teaching pedagogy on the personality traits of management graduates (Extroversion, Neuroticism, Openness, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness).

2 To examine the impact of innovative teaching pedagogy on the entrepreneurial skills of management graduates (job-specific skills, leadership skills, soft skills, strategic insight and planning skills ,communication skills, IT skills and customer service skills).

3 To find out the association between innovative teaching pedagogy (lessons through real life situations , role plays, management games, recreational activities, case study discussions, workshops ,working clubs (literacy club, eco club, house club, sports club), on personality traits and entrepreneur skill development among management graduates.

4 To provide recommendations to educators regarding the effective innovative teaching pedagogy that can create significant influence on the personality traits and entrepreneur skill development among management graduates.

Research Methodology

The study is descriptive in nature. Both primary and secondary data were included for purpose of study. Primary data included a questionnaire. A single group experimental study has been designed to realise the desired objectives. Firstly, the letter of approval was presented to authorities to acknowledge the conduct of the research as well as the involvement of students in this research. The chosen respondents were given some inventories to be answered, namely Big Five Inventory (BFI) and self-assessment questionnaire on entrepreneur skill development. Number of innovative teaching practices thrice a week for two months was observed on the experimental group. The activities were selected with the consultation of the experts in the fields as well as from the available related literature. Before the start of the experiment programs, a questionnaire was applied on the subjects. Again, on the conclusion of the experimental treatment, the same questionnaire was executed. Data was collected with help of The Big Five personality traits model (1990) and self-designed entrepreneur skill development questionnaire. Statistical tools used were t- test to compare the data taken before the experimental program verses after the program. Pearson Product moment coefficient of correlation statistical method was conducted to find out the relationship between variables. Data generated were subjected to descriptive and analytical approach using SPSS 25. A Big 5 personality traits standardized available scale was implemented on the respondents. The innovative teaching pedagogy included the following: Active and passive recreational activities, Free hand exercises, Group discussions, Slogan writings, Debate and declamation, Puzzle and problem-solving attempts by the subjects, Lectures on personality and skill development, Workshops, Role plays, Working clubs etc. These activities were carried out on the subjects for one hour thrice a week with the help of at least two research assistants for about 2 months. After 2 months, experimental treatment post data was collected by applying two scales of big five model and entrepreneur skill development scale. Pre and post data was subjected to statistical analysis to obtain the results.

Hypothesis Development

H01: There is no significant association between innovative teaching pedagogy on the personality traits and entrepreneurial skills of the management graduates.

H0a: There is a significant association between innovative teaching pedagogy on the personality traits and entrepreneurial skills of the management graduates.

Results and Discussion

Interpretation: Reliability is about how consistent the measurement is in the present research. For a scale to be reliable, the rule is that α of 0.6-0.7 indicates an acceptable level of reliability, and 0.8 or greater a very good level. As in the present research the value of Cronbach’s alpha is found to be 0.827. So, it can be inferred that reliability of the scale is good shows in Table 1.

Objective1. To examines the impact of innovative teaching pedagogy on the personality traits of management graduates (Extroversion, Neuroticism, Openness, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness).

Interpretation of results: Since the innovative teaching pedagogy was implemented on the same group of respondents with a time gap of few weeks. So, here paired sample t test was applied to observe the changes before and after implementation of innovative teaching pedagogy. By looking at the paired sample statistics, it can be inferred that the mean value of the two personality traits of management graduates Extroversion and Conscientiousness increased whereas that of Neuroticism, Openness, Agreeableness decreased with the adoption of innovative teaching pedagogy by the instructor shows in Tables 2 & 3.

Interpretation: For Pair 1: F1-FF1 the value of p is 0.023 which is smaller than the significance level that is p<0.05, suggesting that the null hypothesis is rejected, favoring the alternate hypothesis stating that there is a significant impact on Extraversion trait of personality due to change in teaching pedagogy. The student has become more extrovert as he was given a platform to present his ideas in front of the facilitator.

For Pair 2: F2-FF2 the value of p is 0.000 which is smaller than the significance level that is p<0.05, suggesting that the null hypothesis is rejected. Therefore, it can be said that Neuroticism witnessed a significant change due to change in teaching pedagogy.

For Pair 3: F3-FF3 the value of p is 0.000 which is smaller than the significance level that is p<0.05, suggesting that the null hypothesis is rejected, accepting the alternate hypothesis that there was a significant difference in Openness in the personality of the student due to change in teaching pedagogy.

For Pair 4: F4-FF4 the value of p is 0.000 which is smaller than the significance level that is p<0.05, suggesting that the null hypothesis is rejected, stating that there was a significant change in Agreeableness of a student.

For Pair 5: F5-FF5 the value of p is 0.356 which is greater than the significance level that is p>0.05, suggesting that the null hypothesis is accepted. Clearly stating that Conscientiousness encountered no significant difference before and after change in teaching pedagogy.

Objective 2: To examine the impact of innovative teaching pedagogy on the entrepreneurial skills of management graduates (job-specific skills, leadership skills, soft skills, strategic insight and planning skills ,communication skills, IT skills and customer service skills) shows in Table 4.

Interpretation: The item statistics, inferred that the mean value of leadership skills, strategic insight and planning skills ,communication skills of students increased with the adoption of innovative teaching pedagogy by the instructor.

Objective 3: To find out the association between innovative teaching pedagogy (lessons through real life situations , role plays, management games, recreational activities, case study discussions, workshops ,working clubs (literacy club, eco club, house club, sports club), on personality traits and entrepreneur skill development among management graduates shows in Table 5.

Interpretation:

Correlation table signifies that Innovative Teaching Pedagogy has a significant impact on Personality Traits and Entrepreneur Skills of Management graduates as both are found to be positively correlated with Innovative Teaching Pedagogy.

Conclusion

It was observed that adoption of innovative teaching pedagogy created a significant impact on Extraversion, Neuroticism, Openness, Agreeableness traits of a student. The student became more extrovert as he was given a platform to present his ideas in front of the facilitator. However Conscientiousness encountered no significant difference before and after change in teaching pedagogy. The entrepreneurial skills (job-specific skills, leadership skills, soft skills, strategic insight and planning, communication skills, IT skills and customer service skills) were found to be positively associated with the innovative teaching pedagogy.

Recommendations

Objective 4: To provide recommendations to educators regarding the effective innovative teaching pedagogy that can create significant influence on the personality traits and entrepreneur skill development among management graduates.

In order to bridge up the skill gap in KSA, Higher Educational Institutions need to acts as a positive catalyst and facilitate students to take a deserving place outside. The teaching pedagogy adopted in higher education should meet the changing industry needs. The platform for the education system for university going students must be addressed properly. Teaching Pedagogy should build the personality traits and develop entrepreneur skills of the students in a more holistic manner.

Limitations of Research

Research analysis is limited to the time period from 2020-2021. It implies that changes in teaching pedagogy and its impact on their personality traits and entrepreneur skills was observed on management graduates during academic session of 2020-2021.

Students of one course were taken for purpose of study. It implies that students enrolled in business administration program were only taken as respondents for the current research. Hence convenience sampling was adopted.

Acknowledgement

This research was funded by the Deanship of Scientific Research at Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University through the research only staff program.

References

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