School principals’ abilities and resources distinguish them from one another. The research question was whether a significant relationship exists between adjective-based personality traits and self-efficacy. The study aims to examine the level of the relationship between school principals’ adjective-based personality traits and their self-efficacy. The research method is quantitative and was developed using a correlational survey design. Within this scope, the research group included 160 principals and vice-principals working in 63 public schools affiliated with the Ministry of National Education in the Avcılar district of Istanbul during the 2021–2022 academic year. The data collection tools used in this study were the school principal self-efficacy scale and the adjective-based personality test. The adjective-based personality test consists of five dimensions, which are respectively: emotional stability, extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness. The tests used in this research included Pearson correlation analysis, simple linear regression, and multiple regression analyses. According to the results of the multivariate regression analysis conducted to determine the level of school principle self-efficacy using the dimensions of the adjective-based personality test, the dimensions accounted for 35% of the variance in self-efficacy levels. When these dimensions were combined with the categorical variable of job position, they accounted for 37% of the variance in school principle self-efficacy levels. Additionally, when these dimensions were combined with the categorical variable of age, they accounted for 37% of the variance in school principle self-efficacy levels.
Cite this article as: Tuna, E., & Turhan, N. S. (2025). Investigating the relationship between school principals’ adjective–based personality traits and their self-efficacy. HAYEF: Journal of Education, 22,0037, doi:10.5152/hayef.2025.24037.