Power of Faculty Members’ Personality Traits in Predicting Students’ Sense of Belonging in Nigerian Universities

Abstract

One of the most basic human needs is a sense of belonging; however, a sizable section of the populace experiences loneliness and a sense of alienation, with adolescents more vulnerable to loneliness. This study examines how students’ sense of belonging in higher education institutions in Nigeria is impacted by the personality traits of the faculty members. Based on the Big Five personality theory and Strayhorn's sense of belonging framework, the study emphasizes the crucial interaction between students’ sense of belonging and psychological integration and the personality traits (conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, openness, and neuroticism) of lecturers. The Belonging and Personality Trait Questionnaire (BPTQ, r = 0.87) was used to gather data from 1,089 undergraduate students at four different universities in Ekiti State, using a correlational survey design. Results show that students have a poor sense of belonging (mean = 76.31), which is made worse by faculty members’ high levels of neuroticism (mean = 38.67). A sense of belonging was favorably predicted by conscientiousness (r = 0.10, p < 0.05 (0.00) ), whereas agreeableness (r = −0.15, p < 0.05 (0.00) ) and extraversion (r = −0.16, p < 0.05 (0.00) ) showed strong negative correlations. Along with other contextual factors, faculty members’ personality traits played a significant role in explaining 24% of the variance in students’ sense of belonging. The study concluded that improving interpersonal interaction through focused training and raising faculty understanding of the influence of their personality traits can increase student inclusion.