Personality and Communication Skills Expectations of K–12 Educators: A Content Analysis of 21,805 Online Job Advertisements.

This article examines the expectations for transferable skills—defined as noncognitive or "soft" skills—among K–12 (kindergarten through Grade 12) teachers and staff by analyzing 21,805 online job advertisements from U.S. school districts. The study finds that communication skills are consistently prioritized across teachers, paraeducators, principals, and administrative assistants, while other personality-related skills (mapped to the Big Five personality traits: extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, and openness to experience) vary notably by role. Despite expert ratings and prior research emphasizing the high importance of transferable skills such as dependability, integrity, and adaptability, these skills appear infrequently in job postings, suggesting a potential lack of transparency in communicating skill expectations to applicants. The findings have implications for recruitment, training, and assessment practices in K–12 education, highlighting opportunities to better articulate and develop transferable skills within the workforce.