ROLES OF BIG FIVE PERSONALITY TRAITS, LOCUS OF CONTROL AND ASSERTIVENESS IN PERCEIVED ACADEMIC MENTORING AMONG STUDENTS

Abstract

      Effective mentoring is needed in order to make substantial progress in training programmes and professional practice. One key population for mentoring are undergraduate students because they constitute a valuable part of the youth who will transit to become professionals in future. There is limited research on mentoring in Nigerian higher educational institutions. This study investigated the roles of Big Five personality, locus of control and assertiveness in perceived academic mentoring among undergraduate students. Participants were 603 final year students of the University (305 males and 298 females) of Nigeria Nsukka campus (Mage = 23.26 years, SD = 3.09). They completed the Big Five personality Inventory (BFI), Locus of Control Behaviour Scale, Assertiveness Behaviour Inventory, and Mentoring Scale. Hierarchical multiple regression was used for data analysis. It was found that extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism did not significantly predict perceived mentoring. Openness to experience, positively predicted perceived mentoring. Locus of control positively significantly predicted perceived mentoring, but assertiveness did not significantly predict perceived mentoring. Interventions to improve externally-oriented control beliefs among students was suggested as a way of enhancing their mentoring behaviours, and the need for further studies on the variables using participants from multiple backgrounds to ascertain the extent to which the findings can be generalised to other student populations.   Keywords: Assertiveness, locus of control, mentoring, personality, undergraduate students.