A study on the students' view of their favourite teacher's interpersonal behaviour in the science classroom

Abstract

Learning environments research has expanded remarkably over the past few decades on the international scene. It is very important to study student teacher interaction on students' views to understand the real classroom environment. My research study was based on the favourite science teachers in our education system. This study was conducted to identify the factors that the average students perceive and mostly recognize in their favourite science teachers interpersonal behaviour.

A sample of 398 grade 11 students from 11 schools in .Kandy district participated in the study .Sri Lankan adaptation of an existing instrument questionnaire of teacher interaction (QTI)was used for measuring teacher interpersonal behaviour. The reliability of the eight scales of QTI ranged from 0.53 to 0.72. The reliability was further established by the pattern of correlation on the circumplex interpersonal behaviour model.

Sri Lankan Students' favourite science teachers were perceived by their students as directive teachers with good leadership and understanding. Gender difference in relation to both the students and the teachers were observed in some of the eight scales analyzed in the survey .

The extra open question used in the study was useful to capture the specific perceptions of Sri Lankan grade 11 students towards their favourite science teachers . This important additional information may be related to Sri Lankan culture . The outcomes of the study can help in building more positive teacher-student relationships through reflection. To this end, teachers can be provided with personal feedback on their scale, item and dimension scores for the three different types of perceptions (self, ideal and student) . The instrument will also be used for future research on learning environments in Sri Lanka.