Is Authoritative Teaching Beneficial for All Students?
A Multi-Level Model of the Effects of Teaching Style on Interest and Achievement
Takeaways for Teachers
- Each student is unique and will have their own learning styles that work for them
- Different cultural and ethnic backgrounds to consider
- High Demand is deemed important
- Shows the student that the teacher has high expectations for them to succeed
The Study
Conclusion
- Published in 2011 by Bridget V. Dever and Stuart A. Karabenick
- The effects of high academic press & caring for students (authoritative) on interest and achievement
- Were these effects moderated based on students' ethnicity/cultural background?
"The authoritarian teaching style predicted the most adaptive pattern of achievement growth for all students, regardless of ethnicity"
Variables
Participants
- 3,602 students in 98 classrooms
- 4 public middle schools & 2 public high schools
- Ethnically diverse, working class area in California
- 51% male, 76% Hispanic, 17% Vietnamese, 7% Caucasian / Non- Hispanic
- 42% Grades 7-8, 57.3% Grades 9-12
- Higher levels of teacher caring were related to lower levels of achievement gains for all students
- Academic press positively predicted both interest and achievement gains for all students, regardless of ethnicity
- High Academic Press
- "High expectations by the teacher for a student or class of students"
- Teacher Caring
- "Warmth or the affective relationship a teacher exhibits toward a student or class of students"
Procedure
- Data about teacher caring, academic press, and student interest was collected through self-report surveys administered in students' math classes
- Measures of mathematical achievement were based on scores on a statewide standardized test
- Information about students' ethnicity and highest level of parental education was obtained from district data files (control variables)
Results
Parenting Styles
Interest
Examples from Professional Teaching and Learning Experiences
Agree/Disagree?
Hispanic students:
- Academic press positively predicted interest in math
- Teacher caring = trend approaching significance, but not did not positively predict interest
Vietnamese students:
- Most interested when they had a teacher perceived lower in caring
- Agree:
- Hypothesis - authoritative style is best
- No one style fits all
- Cultural background and ethnic differences
- Students from various cultures might define "teacher caring" in different ways
- Limitations of the study
- More research needed
- Solely based on mathematics, maybe authoritarian teaching works best for that subject where authoritative would work better for another subject
- Small sample of Caucasian students
- Disagree:
- Teacher caring relates to lower levels of achievement
Achievement
Authoritative + responsive + demanding
Authoritarian - responsive + demanding
Permissive + responsive - demanding
Neglectful - responsive - demanding
Academic press + predicted achievement
Teacher caring - predicted achievement
- As a student:
- Teacher caring + high demand = favorite and most successful classes (combination of the two)
- This class for example - teachers understanding of personal situations, caring about our success
- As a volunteer in a first grade classroom:
- Teacher caring is extremely important
- One of my little first graders started crying when he got the answer wrong - need teacher caring to feel confident and accept mistakes as "okay"
Conclusion : students of authoritative parents were the most "intrinsically motivated and successful in school."