Personality Factors (Mathematics Anxiety, Epistemological Belief, And Emotional Intelligence) As Predictors of Senior Secondary School Students’ Achievement in Mathematics

Mathematics is the bedrock of scientific and technological development; hence, adequate measures must be taken to improve students’ achievement towards the subject at all levels of education, especially at Secondary Education. Previous studies focused on effective strategies of Learning Mathematics to Mathematics students without considering the extent to which Personality factors could predict their achievement in the subject. This study investigated Personality factors as predictors of students’ achievement in Mathematics in the Ibadan Metropolis, Nigeria. The survey design of correlational type was adopted while multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 400 Senior School 2 Mathematics students. Two adapted instruments (PQ) (0.80) and (SMAT) (0.87) were used for data collection. Three research questions were raised and answered, the results showed that Personality factors had significant composite contribution on Senior School Students’ achievement (F (5,399) =3.774; P<.05, R2=.104). Mathematics Anxiety (β= .471, t=2.868; p<.05) and Epistemological Belief (β= .671, t=3.317; p<.05) had significant relative contributions to Senior School Students’ achievement and can predict academic achievement in Mathematics in Ibadan Metropolis. It is therefore recommended that educational policy makers and school administrators should factor the variables into Mathematics Students’ preparation programs for improved learning outcomes.