This review presents an overview of selected articles on the leniency hypothesis: the idea that students give higher evaluations to instructors who grade more leniently. Such articles comprise a small subset of the voluminous research on student evaluations of teaching (SETs). In this diverse literature, research methods and aims have frequently…

The widespread use of student evaluations to rate faculty has raised the question of whether high student evaluations can be gained simply through the process of faculty giving higher grades to students, or whether learning of students is a critical factor in such evaluations. Four different models were tested which represented different…

This article examines the relationship between teacher effectiveness and students' achievement as measured by test scores. A strong belief among policymakers and public as well as private funding agencies is that test scores are directly related to the quality of teaching effectiveness. This relationship implies that there could be a direct…

This preliminary study provides a snap shot of the novice teachers' perceptions of their self-efficacy and how it relates to their pedagogy at the beginning of their ongoing professional development training. Oral and written expressions about their pedagogy provide substantive insight to their thoughts and actions regarding teacher efficacy. The…

This study used the classroom management framework conceptualized by Wolfgang and Glickman (1980, 1986) to explain the various dimensions of classroom management. This framework defines three broad areas, instructional management, people management, and behavior management. It appears that the lengthened student teaching experience does not impact…

The impacts of instructor gender and race on student evaluations of teaching effectiveness, particularly when courses contained controversial content, were studied with 190 undergraduates. No support was found for the hypothesis that students would rate women and minority instructors lower, but the same material was thought to be more…

Undergraduate students were asked to rank the oral communication skills identified by S. Wilmington (1992) as necessary for teachers. Responses from 296 students emphasized the importance of message and listening aspects over physical aspects. Findings are compared with those of the administrators in the Wilmington study. (SLD)

In view of the fact that present studies of teacher effectiveness are incongruent and ineffective, a new approach--cognitive information processing--is evolving. The author contends that this new approach will lead to changes in topics of research, methods of research, and nature of the results. (JKS)

Relationships among self-concept, educational attitudes, and the performance of 5l elementary school student teachers were explored. Results indicated student teacher competencies were related to educational attitudes and self-concept operating jointly. Variance in student teacher performance was significantly affected by the addition of…

The literature on the use of student ratings of teachers is reviewed, and the empirical, discriminant, and content validity of the ratings are discussed. Since findings regarding validity conflict, teacher rating forms should be used with caution. Suggestions for improved use are included. (GDC)

The Edwards Personal Preference Schedule was used to assess the personality variables of teachers named as effective by a sample of heterosexual, heterogeneous Black, Chicano, Indian, Asian, and White high school students. Specific attributes of effective teachers were identified, and include: intraception, change, dominance, nurturance, and…

Sixty urban and 57 rural elementary school classrooms were observed to document the effects of rural versus urban locale, grade level, and subject matter taught on instructional quality. Teachers' verbal behaviors were grouped into 16 process-by-substance categories. Results showed that all three main effects were significant. (Author/MV)

College students' ratings of their instructors used for the purpose of promotion were compared with those obtained for the purpose of teachers' self-improvement. The students also provided reasons for rating their instructors as they did. Results indicated that students do not rate their instructors differently for either type of questionnaire.…

Mathematics anxiety was measured in 40 first-year elementary school teachers (grades 2-5) and compared to teaching outcomes. From classroom observations, it was found that those with higher anxiety planned less math and taught non-math content more often, but ratings of the teachers' instructional performance did not differ. (SLD)

This review focuses on the influence of teacher anxiety on student achievement and suggests directions for further inquiry. Research has determined no mutually acceptable definition of teacher anxiety, therefore a variety of its aspects are examined, including teacher effectiveness and influence upon classroom climate.