Role of Teachers in Students' Personality Development

Published: Oct. 30, 2019, 8 a.m.

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USATestprep welcomes this guest post from Stella Lincoln, Academic Coordinator and Career Counselor at King Essay.

During a busy school day, sparing time for the personality development of students is a challenge for teachers. However, for most of the kids, school is their first encountered social circle that provides an excellent opportunity for personality development. Traditionally, schools were considered as a place just to learn concepts. However, today, they are taken as a place to build a foundation for children to make them upstanding adults. Each school sets a tone for integrity, respect, and kindness for its students. Moreover, teachers are the most important individuals that kids take as a role model after their parents. They notice everything teachers do; hence, they can set a better classroom environment to make their personality well-groomed. However, personality development can be proactively done via planned activities in a classroom and encouraging students to participate, develop, and adopt disciplined and ethical norms of behaviors that may last far beyond a school.

11 Roles of teacher for personality development of students

Below are 11 ways; how and why a teacher can be a role model in a student's personality development.

1. Encourage Role Models

Students must choose a role model to follow. Teachers can make a conscious effort to highlight positive characters from science, literature, history, and arts as role models. They can teach about the personalities that students deliberately emulate. Let your students elaborate, assess, and match their behaviors and traits of these personalities and some commendable characters in fiction or story. Teachers can even make them dramatize story elements and styles with role plays and let them make a better choice to inspire. Discuss open-ended about current scenarios and leaderships, celebrities, sports figures as role models as well. Ask them to select people matching their words with actions and help them to elaborate on how they can improve their own and other's lives with good quality traits.

2. Character Building

There is a famous saying that; "Character can be measured by what one would do if no one were looking." Hence, if the correct character is infused deeply at an early age, positive behavior is automatic. There are individual pillars of character building, including; respect, care, responsibility, fairness, trustworthiness, courage, diligence, and integrity. Teachers can address them one by one, by choosing weekly assignments and get creative ways to highlight them. Make a bulletin board or an interactive collage wall in the classroom, assign them writing projects, encourage elementary reading, and let students explore their norms. This is an ideal way to infuse every trait in their personality, raise awareness so they can strive to get them in-depth to themselves. Suggest them a book and read specific chapters with them that can come up with their personal slogans for it.

3. Set Principles & Discipline

As a teacher, it is your responsibility to set appropriate and practical rules for classroom behavior. Get a clear perception of ground rules. Let them know what is acceptable and what is unacceptable in the premises. Let the character traits and practices infuse built by every rule. Set good examples of yourself, as well. Get your work done on time. Be punctual, neat, and respectful. “Launching a healthy contest to let students suggest rules that are beneficial for the whole class is an ideal way to give them ownership of the activity.” (Martha Lynn, History Instructor – Crowd Writer and Academist Help). Stay positive in praising students who exhibit good character and good behavior. As mentioned above, make positive role models for the class and employ appreciation and reward system in the form of gold stars, chocolates, and applause for good behaviors. Make ways to exchange those credits for privileges.

4. Build Empathy

Make a zero-tolerance policy for character assaults, name-calling, and bullying. Encourage caring and empathetic attitudes. Ensure every student is included in caring activities and describe or enlist the random acts of kindness. Concept reward and appreciation systems for students and let them elaborate on their understanding.

5. Insist on Respect

An ideal class should be established on the foundations of respect and pillars of politeness. Respecting other's points of view and protecting their own self-respect without being defensive based on the positive traits of characters. For any miss conduct of rules and situations, met with inappropriate consequences, make a strict application of rules on abuse and negativity intolerance in any kind of situation. Extol the virtues of treating everyone with dignity and respect and create anti-bullying and anti-assault campaigns.

6. Volunteerism

Highlight the virtues and importance of volunteerism in your classroom. Make different volunteer ship program in your class or school and motivate your students to participate in them. Let them assist in lab, plantations, read for junior classes, help at a local fundraiser, collect donations, provide support to students recovering from injury or illness. Make a worthy cause campaign primarily that serves disabled or elderly people to encourage emotions of sympathy into them. Let your students organize a recycling project to contribute healthy habits for the sake of the environment as well. Pledge biking, cycling, and walking is also a good idea which they might enjoy.

7. Actions Speak

Learning and knowledge is of no use if not applied well. Hence, challenge your students to do projects out of their education to benefit school, community, or city. Sit with them and brainstorm creative ideas to cultivate the pillars of personality development. Let them strive for a spirit of a will to do. Let senior students help junior ones to plan the necessary steps of the activity. Also, it involves parents to motivate them at home as well.

8. Avoid Labels

Just like character assault, labeling children with a habit or a thing is the worst thing that can happen with them. It affects their thought processing. Also, avoid comparing a kid with another even if they are too good to be idealized. Let them express their own potential and personality. This will help them to behave in a meaningful way.

9. Punish Lovingly

It is not necessary that punishment always have to be violent and abusive. To handle your students properly, you need to punish them lovingly. Make them on the point of stress to differentiate between the right and the wrong. Explain the reasons for not approving certain activities and convince them for their own benefit. Make sure you both don't disappoint each other.

10. Listen

Listen to the individual concerns of your students. Give them undivided attention. Let them open up to your trust as the golden rule of working wonders. This is an ideal way of giving them a sense of worthiness and built confidence in their personalities.

11. Help Them

Childhood is the age of lots of learning and changes that are quick and a lot to deal with. Help them out with being there for your students whenever they need you. Be the ultimate support for them as a responsible teacher. Guide them to go through life's ups and down successfully with inner strength.


Every child is different, and they need a customized approach to be developed well. Consistent love, support, and inspiration will help to build confidence, etiquette, and empathy. Above are some of the suggestions that teachers can include in their teaching practices to go for endless opportunities for your students by using their imaginations. All the best!

Author Bio

Stella Lincoln is a qualified education analyst and child psychologist. She has a rich experience of child rehabilitation and educational administrative consultations. Currently, she is working as an Academic Coordinator and Career Counselor at King Essay and Educator House.