LEARNERS' AGE DIFFERENCES IN PERSONALITY AND RELATIONSHIPS WITH ACHIEVEMENT GOALS

The current study aimed at examining the levels of personality factors among school and university students in the Sultanate of Oman, in addition to age differences in these factors. Moreover, the study explored the relationships between personality factors and achievement goals (Mastery goals and performance-approach goals). The study sample consisted of 784 ninth and eleventh graders (50.51% males, 49.48% females) and 421 university students (42.5% males, 57.5% females). HEXACO-60 inventory (Ashton & Lee, 2009) was implemented for the study sample. The HEXACO-60 measures six personality factors: Honesty-Humility, Emotionality, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Openness to Experience. The study results showed statistically significant differences in three personality factors (Honesty-Humility, Emotionality, Conscientiousness) based on age. University students manifested higher levels of these factors than school students. Furthermore, the results indicated statistically significant relationships between some personality factors and achievement goals across the three age groups.