Applicability paradigm: Students' evaluations of teaching effectiveness in different countries.

The author (1981) reviews 4 studies concerning his paradigm for studying the applicability of 2 North American instruments designed to measure students' evaluations of university-teaching effectiveness in different countries. Across the 4 studies (1) all items were judged to be appropriate by a large majority of the students; (2) all items were selected by some students as being most important; (3) there was a surprising consistency in the items judged to be less appropriate and most important; (4) all but the Workload/Difficulty items clearly differentiated between good and poor instructors; (5) factor analyses generally replicated the factors that each instrument was designed to measure; and (6) multitrait–multimethod analyses demonstrated strong support for both the convergent and divergent validity of responses to the 2 instruments. (13 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of teacher sex, student sex, and teacher warmth on the evaluation of college instructors.

Examined the influence of teacher sex, student sex, and teacher warmth as perceived by students and teachers on teacher evaluation. Male and female instructors in the same department were matched on the level of course taught. 22 pairs of courses evaluated by 838 college students were obtained. Twenty Instructional Improvement Questionnaire items that directly evaluate instructor performance were analyzed using a 3-factor analysis of variance and the .0025 level of significance. No interactions between faculty sex, student sex, and teacher warmth were found. When Ss rated their instructor's interest and warmth, teachers who were warmer and primarily interested in students received higher ratings in teaching effectiveness. When teachers rated themselves on warmth and interest, self-ratings interacted with faculty sex. Generally, female teachers received higher effectiveness ratings than did male teachers when they considered themselves low in warmth or interested in course content. Male teachers who rated themselves high in warmth or primarily interested in students received higher ratings than did male teachers who rated themselves low in warmth or primarily interested in course content, respectively. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Depression and conduct disorder in native and non-native children

OBJECTIVE: To compare depression and conduct disorder symptoms between North American Native and non-Native children as rated by teacher, parent, and self-reports. METHOD: The sample included 1,251 Native children in grades 2 and 4 in four different settings across North America and comparison samples of 457 non-Native children. Parents, teachers, and children rated children's mental health using culturally sensitive measures of depression and conduct disorder symptoms. RESULTS: According to parent ratings and child self-reports, there were no Native/non-Native differences in levels of conduct disorder symptoms. However, non-Native teachers rated higher levels of conduct disorder symptoms among Native children compared with non-Native students. Children reported higher levels of depression than the adults rating them. CONCLUSIONS: Results challenge assertions about high levels of psychopathology among Native youngsters. Cultural distance may introduce a negative bias in teacher evaluations of Native children's mental health.     

Factors related to correspondence between teacher ratings of elementary student depression and student self-ratings.

Fourth through 6th graders (n?=?418) completed the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI; M. Kovacs, 1980). Each teacher (n?=?31) rated 6 students with high, low, or medium CDI scores (n?=?181) using the CDI items (teacher-CDI) and a single global rating. Remaining students received the global rating only. 16 teachers were randomly assigned to receive instruction on childhood depression. Contrary to earlier studies, moderate correspondence was found for both measures. Familiarity was related to correspondence, whereas confidence and student gender were unrelated to correspondence. Instruction improved knowledge, but not correspondence. School-related behaviors yielded the highest correspondence. The teacher-CDI displayed high test–retest reliability. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Teachers' perceptions of their relationships with students: Effects of child age, gender, and ethnicity of teachers and children.

This study assessed the extent to which teachers' perceptions of their relationships with young students varied as a function of child and teacher characteristics in a large, demographically diverse sample of 197 preschool and kindergarten teachers and 840 children (mean age 4 yrs 7 mo old). Children were approximately evenly divided between boys and girls. Regression analyses were conducted to examine the relation between teachers' perceptions of their relationships with students and (a) teacher ethnicity, (b) child age, ethnicity, and gender, and (c) the ethnic match between teacher and child. Child age and ethnicity and teacher–child ethnic match were consistently related to teachers perceptions, explaining up to 27% of the variance in perceptions of negative aspects of the teacher–child relationship, specifically teacher–child conflict. When child and teacher had the same ethnicity, teachers rated their relationships with children more positively. The results are discussed in terms of classroom social processes related to children's adjustment and the measurement of teacher–child relationships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ethnic and gender differences in sexuality: variations in sexual behavior between Asian and non-Asian university students

Seven hundred and two (346 non-Asian, 356 Asian) undergraduate volunteers were assessed in a confidential laboratory setting on levels of interpersonal sexual behavior (e.g., petting, intercourse), intrapersonal sexual behavior (e.g., fantasy, masturbation), and sociosexual restrictiveness (e.g., lifetime number of partners, number of "one-night stands"). The purpose was to examine possible differences in sexual behavior between Asian and non-Asian Canadian university students and to determine the association between North American residency and the sexual behavior of Asians. The role of gender on sexual behavior both across and within ethnic groups was also examined. Statistical analyses revealed that Asian students were significantly more conservative than non-Asian students on all measures of interpersonal sexual behavior and sociosexual restrictiveness. Significant differences were also noted between Asian and non-Asian students on most measures of intrapersonal sexual behavior. With the exception of two fantasy items, length of residency in Canada was unrelated to interpersonal sexual behavior, intrapersonal sexual behavior, or sociosexual restrictiveness among Asians. Although gender differences were substantial for intrapersonal sexual behaviors such as fantasy and masturbation, no significant gender differences were found for measures of interpersonal sexual experience, with the exception of reported number of one-night stands.     

Teachers' differential behavior toward higher and lower achieving students and its relation to selected teacher characteristics.

Examined individual differences in the differential behavior of 12 3rd-grade teachers toward higher- and lower-achieving students for consistent patterns and their relation to the perceptual and attitudinal characteristics of teachers and their quality of teaching. Teachers had an average of 14.3 yrs of teaching experience. Interactions between teachers and students were coded by observers who also rated teachers on the quality of their instruction. Measures of teachers' perceptions and attitudes were gathered from questionnaires. Correlations showed that teachers were moderately consistent in their individual patterns of differential behavior. Favored students (higher or lower achievers) received a combination of both rewarding and demanding teacher behavior. Correlations of an index of teachers' overall differential behavior with the teacher questionnaire responses, although not statistically significant, suggested that teachers who showed more concern for lower achieving students tended to have more flexible and accurate perceptions of students. These same teachers were rated significantly lower on their quality of teaching, which suggests that these 2 sets of skills may be difficult to combine. (33 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Importance in instructional text: Teachers' and students' perceptions of task demands.

History teachers (N=22) and their 11th-grade students (N=451) rated the relative importance of sections of an instructional text on which teachers would be giving a test. Multilevel analysis revealed only a moderate correspondence between teachers in their importance ratings. This suggested that there were large differences between the task demands of individual teachers; therefore, students needed to attune to the demands their own teacher set. However, only a moderate correspondence was found between ratings of individual students and those of their teacher. Although this correspondence varied between teachers, between students, and between text sections, results suggest that in general, the participating students did not have a very clear or sound perception of task demands. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Age, sex, and attractiveness as factors in student ratings of teachers: A developmental study.

Black-and-white photographs of teachers, controlled for race, age, sex, and attractiveness, were rated on 7 factors of teacher performance by 150 students in Grades 2, 5, 7, 11, and 13. Across all developmental levels and on all factors, ratings of unattractive teachers tended to be lower. At all developmental levels, older teachers tended to receive lower ratings than younger teachers. Sex of the teacher appeared to be a more influential factor at Grades 11 and 13. Interactions showed that unattractive middle-aged female teachers and unattractive old male teachers frequently received lower ratings. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attributions of intentions and fairness judgments regarding interracial peer encounters.

To investigate how adolescents interpret ambiguous actions in hypothetical interracial peer encounters, we conducted a study in which 8th- and 11th-grade students (N = 837) evaluated 4 interracial peer encounters in which the intentions of the protagonist were ambiguous. The sample was evenly divided by gender and included both African American and European American adolescents. European American students, male adolescents, and 8th graders were more likely to attribute negative intentions to the protagonist in interracial exchanges than were African American students, female adolescents, and 11th graders. Although all participants viewed peer and teacher accusations of wrongdoing in ambiguous situations as unfair, ethnic minority students as well as female adolescents rated accusations of wrongdoing as more unfair than did ethnic majority or male adolescents. Eleventh graders were more likely to view accusations of wrongdoing for protagonists with a prior history of transgression as fair than were 8th graders. The findings are discussed in light of efforts to reduce prejudice and to facilitate positive intergroup peer interactions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Do gender differences in help avoidance vary by ethnicity? An examination of African American and European American students during early adolescence.

The present research examined whether the nature of gender differences varies by race for two types of academic engagement in the classroom (help avoidance and voice with the teacher) in a sample of early adolescents (N = 456; 55% female, 60% African American and 40% European American) making the transition to middle school. Growth curve analyses indicated that help avoidance increased over time, voice remained stable, and achievement declined. In line with hypotheses based on cultural variations in the female role, there were no gender differences in help avoidance for African American students, whereas for European American students, girls were lower in help avoidance than were boys. For African American students, there were no gender differences in voice with the teacher, whereas for European American students, girls were higher than were boys. These group differences were present at all 3 waves. For all students, increases in help avoidance negatively predicted changes in achievement, whereas increases in voice positively predicted achievement. Results underscore the importance of examining gender and ethnicity together to understand academic adjustment during early adolescence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Accuracy of teacher judgments of student responses to standardized test items.

Six students were randomly selected from each of 4 3rd-grade and 4 5th-grade classes. For each of their 6 students, teachers were asked to predict whether the student had responded correctly or incorrectly to selected items on the SRA (Science Research Associates) Achievement Series. Aggregate measures of teachers' judgments of their students' responses correlated positively and substantially with aggregate measures of students' actual responses. Teachers accurately judged their students' responses to individual items for approximately three-quarters of the total number of test items. However, the accuracy of teachers' judgments varied significantly with subtest, and there were significant individual differences among teachers in the accuracy of their judgments. Teachers were least accurate in judging low-performing students and most accurate in judging high-performing students. These results are consistent with previous research and are discussed within the context of interactive decision making of teachers. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The teacher and student as Pygmalions: Joint effects of teacher and student expectations.

Examined the effects of teachers' expectations about students and students' expectations about teachers on the performance and attitudes of both participants. 60 female undergraduates were designated as teachers and were led to expect a high- or low-ability student, and a further 60 Ss acting as students were independently led to expect a teacher of low or high competence. Teachers and students were then randomly paired in a teaching session. Results show that student performance was a function of the teacher's expectations. In addition, teachers' attitudes and rated competence were affected by their expectation regarding the student, and students' attitudes were affected by their expectation about the teacher. (10 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The student as Pygmalion: Effect of student expectation on the teacher.

Two experiments examined the possibility that student expectations regarding a teacher's competence can be communicated to the teacher and bring about the expected behavior. In Exp I, 39 female undergraduates acting as students were administered a lesson by a teacher (confederate) who the students expected to be either effective or ineffective. Results show significant differences in student attitudes, performance, and nonverbal behavior according to expectation. In Exp II, confederates acting as students emitted either positive or negative nonverbal behavior toward 40 female undergraduates acting as their teachers. There were significant effects on teachers' attitudes and behavior. Moreover, ratings of the teacher by judges showed teachers were rated as being more adequate under conditions of positive student nonverbal behavior than negative nonverbal behavior. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Multidimensional ratings of teaching effectiveness by students from different academic settings and their relation to student/course/instructor characteristics.

Students' responses to the Students' Evaluation of Education Quality (SEEQ) survey were collected in 4,471 graduate and undergraduate courses, and these courses were separated into groups representing diverse academic disciplines and settings. Separate factor analyses of 6 groups of courses each clearly identified the evaluation factors that SEEQ was designed to measure, demonstrating the replicability and generality of the factors. The SEEQ factors were then correlated with a set of 16 student/course/instructor characteristics (e.g., class size, expected grades, teacher rank) in each group of courses. These correlations were typically small, and proportion of variance in the ratings that could be predicted by the combined set of characteristics (based on stepwise multiple regression) varied between .08 and .20 in the 6 groups of courses. Most of the predictable variance in each group of courses could be explained by the same 4 characteristics; more favorable ratings were associated with higher prior subject interest, higher expected grades, higher levels of workload/difficulty, and a higher percentage of students taking a course for general interest. Discussion indicates that the interpretation of these effects as a bias to student ratings is unwarranted, and alternative approaches are presented. (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Teacher accuracy in assessing cognitive visual feedback from students.

The relative value of verbal and nonverbal cues in teacher accuracy in making judgments of student comprehension was tested. 67 new interns (not yet teachers), 59 inexperienced teachers, and 46 experienced teachers were each shown 20 short sound-film recordings of 10 students being taught. They rated student comprehension. 57 Ss heard both picture and sound, 60 heard sound only, and 55 saw only the picture. When sound is absent, all groups of teachers are inaccurate in judging student comprehension (about ? correct with ? the chance base). When sound is present, whether or not the picture is seen, all groups exceed chance (about ? correct), but do not differ significantly from each other. The need for research on teacher training in the observation and interpretation of nonverbal feedback from students is indicated. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personal space in the faculty office: Desk placement and the student-faculty interaction.

Conducted a study based on the interior design of faculty offices at a small, coeducational college in Greensboro, North Carolina. 85% of the 74 full-time faculty members responded to a letter. The remaining 15% were visited in their offices by an assistant E. Following R. Sommer's (1969) findings that (a) certain architectural features promote human interaction while others promote alienation, and (b) individuals tend to sit opposite one another in competitive situations but adjacent to one another in cooperative situations, it was predicted that those faculty members who placed their desks between themselves and a visiting student--therefore advertently or inadvertently using the desk as a physical barrier--would be more distant from students in other ways. Faculty who used the desk-between design tended to be older and of higher academic rank, were rated less positively on those student evaluation items that concerned the nature of the student-faculty interaction, and in general were rated less positively as teachers by their students. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparing teacher and peer perceptions of aggression: An ecological approach.

Teacher and peer perceptions of aggression were investigated in a sample of 899 students. Teachers rated their students in Grades 3–8 on an 8-item scale assessing peer-directed aggression. Students completed a questionnaire within classrooms that measured acceptance, rejection, and peer-directed aggression. Both teachers and peers reported higher levels of aggression in boys than in girls. Teacher and peer perceptions of aggressive behavior were more congruent for boys than for girls, but this congruence differed significantly as a function of ethnicity. Significant differences among individual classrooms also existed in both teacher and peer ratings, as well as in the relationships between the 2 measures. Findings of gender, grade level, ethnic, and classroom differences are compared with previous research, and issues relevant to the identification of highly aggressive youth are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)