EFFECT OF GENDER, CREATIVITY AND PERSONALITY ON "EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION AND TEACHING" AS CAREER PREFERENCE OF SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS

The study aims to examine the influence of gender, creativity and personality on "Educational Administration and Teaching" as a career preference among senior secondary students in government schools in Himachal Pradesh. The sample comprised 360 class XII male and female students, and a 2×3×2 ANOVA design was employed, with gender (male, female) and creativity (high, average, low) as independent variables, and personality (extroversion) and Educational Administration and teaching career preference as dependent variables. Verbal creativity was assessed using the Verbal Test of Creative Thinking by Baqer Mehdi (1973), and career preference scores were recorded on a standardized Career Preference Scale that reflects various aspects of occupation, including Educational Administration and Teaching. Results revealed main effects for gender, creativity, and extroversion (personality) on Educational Administration and Teaching preferences, but no second-order interactions with the latter. High-creative and high-extrovert students showed a stronger bias toward Educational Administration and Teaching than light-creative and low-extrovert students, while female participants slightly outscored male participants. The findings have implications for sex- and creativity-differentiated careers guidance at the senior secondary level.