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Teacher personality and the perceived socioeconomic gap in student outcomes

Author

Listed:
  • Brunello, Giorgio
  • Crocè, Clementina
  • Giustinelli, Pamela
  • Rocco, Lorenzo

Abstract

We randomly assign student profiles to teachers and elicit teachers’ beliefs about the student's likelihood of success in alternative high school tracks. We document a large and statistically significant gradient in teachers’ beliefs about students’ high school prospects with respect to students’ socioeconomic background (SEB), ceteris paribus. We find that this gradient varies with teacher's personality, a hard-to-observe and understudied teacher trait. Specifically, higher levels of teacher's extraversion and openness are associated with a steeper negative SEB gradient in teachers’ beliefs about students’ success prospects in an academic track. Conversely, more conscientious and agreeable teachers assign to low-SEB students, on average, a higher probability of success in a vocational track. We discuss some policy implications of our findings.

Suggested Citation

  • Brunello, Giorgio & Crocè, Clementina & Giustinelli, Pamela & Rocco, Lorenzo, 2025. "Teacher personality and the perceived socioeconomic gap in student outcomes," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 247(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolet:v:247:y:2025:i:c:s0165176524005809
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econlet.2024.112096
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Teachers’ beliefs and personality; Choice of high school tracks; Italy;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General
    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality
    • D84 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Expectations; Speculations
    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making

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