ERIC Number: ED515546
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2009
Pages: 305
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: ISBN-978-1-1096-9514-4
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
How Do Adolescent Students Experience Teacher-Student Interactions in a Seventh-Grade Classroom and How Do Those Experiences Affect Their Self-Efficacy Beliefs?
Barg, Katherine Sanjiyan
ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, University of San Francisco
Studies over the past 30 years have examined teacher-student interactions in the classroom but have not focused on how those interactions may affect the self-efficacy feelings of students. Research suggests that students who connect well with their teachers experience more positive academic success. Therefore this study examined how adolescent students experience teacher-student interactions within the middle school classroom environment and how those interactions may relate to students' feelings of self-efficacy. The researcher examined teacher-student interactions in a seventh-grade classroom because this grade level is a pivotal point for adolescents in middle school. Qualitative interpretive research was used to observe teacher-student interactions. Classroom observations were conducted over a four-week period. Focus group interviews were also used to understand how students experienced teacher-student interactions and to examine how students feelings of self-efficacy that may have resulted from teacher-student interactions. Results of the study produced several findings. First, the results of this study suggested that purely qualitative methods alone might not produce useful findings when examining self-efficacy beliefs of adolescents. Researcher observations found that the interactions in the classroom fall into more categories than previous researchers had noted. For example, this study found the teacher had a strong influence on the tone of the classroom. The researcher also observed that male students called out more frequently than female students but that these call-outs were not initiated by the teacher. This study also found that the teacher used non-verbal cues that were experienced negatively by most students and that students often had a difficult time articulating their experiences with self-efficacy as they related to their interactions with the teacher. Therefore, the researcher concluded that while males may dominate classroom discussions as previous research has shown, the teacher might not always be responsible for that behavior. Also the researcher determined that non-verbal actions on the part of the teacher were also a type of interaction that strongly influenced student experiences in the classroom. The researcher concluded that focus group interviews alone were not helpful in determining student self-perceptions of self-efficacy and that additional methods such as surveys and one-to-one interviews might be useful. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]
Descriptors: Teacher Student Relationship, Interaction, Grade 7, Early Adolescents, Classroom Environment, Middle School Students, Observation, Cues, Student Attitudes, Self Efficacy, Focus Groups, Adolescents, Interviews, Gender Differences, Nonverbal Communication, Verbal Communication
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Publication Type: Dissertations/Theses - Doctoral Dissertations
Education Level: Grade 7; Middle Schools
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A