TY - JOUR
T1 - The structure of interpersonal teacher behaviour in Hong Kong secondary schools
AU - Sivan, Atara
AU - Cohen, Arie
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was supported by the Hong Kong Baptist University Faculty Research Grant FRG/07-08/I-16.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.
PY - 2023/4
Y1 - 2023/4
N2 - Interpersonal teacher behaviour refers to the teacher–student interactions in the classroom. One way to measure these interactions is through the Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction (QTI), which is based on the Model for Interpersonal Teacher Behaviour (MITB). This study examined the structure of the Chinese version of the QTI (C-QTI) among a convenience sample of 612 secondary-school students in Hong Kong, using Smallest Space Analysis (SSA) to cross-validate a previous study of primary students utilizing the same approach. Results indicated that the C-QTI fits the MITB circumplex structure in terms of the scale order in a circular structure. The SSA map yielded six sectors: leadership-understanding, helpful/friendly, student responsibility/freedom, uncertain, dissatisfied-admonishing and strict. The two merged sectors demonstrate students’ inability to distinguish between their distinct behaviours. Eight items appeared in a sector different from their original MITB location, which could be attributed to the meanings attached to the different behaviours in the Chinese cultural context of Hong Kong or to the items’ lack of clarity. Comparison of secondary and primary students indicated similarities in scale and item location. However, secondary students were better able to distinguish between the different behaviours, reflecting the possible effect of their developmental level. The study highlights the need to construct contextually-relevant items and examine their existence and clarity as reflected by students’ perceptions. It also suggests the utility of SSA as a useful approach to study interpersonal teacher behaviour and facilitate the QTI adaptation process.
AB - Interpersonal teacher behaviour refers to the teacher–student interactions in the classroom. One way to measure these interactions is through the Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction (QTI), which is based on the Model for Interpersonal Teacher Behaviour (MITB). This study examined the structure of the Chinese version of the QTI (C-QTI) among a convenience sample of 612 secondary-school students in Hong Kong, using Smallest Space Analysis (SSA) to cross-validate a previous study of primary students utilizing the same approach. Results indicated that the C-QTI fits the MITB circumplex structure in terms of the scale order in a circular structure. The SSA map yielded six sectors: leadership-understanding, helpful/friendly, student responsibility/freedom, uncertain, dissatisfied-admonishing and strict. The two merged sectors demonstrate students’ inability to distinguish between their distinct behaviours. Eight items appeared in a sector different from their original MITB location, which could be attributed to the meanings attached to the different behaviours in the Chinese cultural context of Hong Kong or to the items’ lack of clarity. Comparison of secondary and primary students indicated similarities in scale and item location. However, secondary students were better able to distinguish between the different behaviours, reflecting the possible effect of their developmental level. The study highlights the need to construct contextually-relevant items and examine their existence and clarity as reflected by students’ perceptions. It also suggests the utility of SSA as a useful approach to study interpersonal teacher behaviour and facilitate the QTI adaptation process.
KW - Hong Kong
KW - Model for interpersonal teacher behaviour
KW - Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction
KW - Secondary-school students
KW - Smallest space analysis
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85122303477&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s10984-021-09402-w
DO - 10.1007/s10984-021-09402-w
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:85122303477
SN - 1387-1579
VL - 26
SP - 19
EP - 30
JO - Learning Environments Research
JF - Learning Environments Research
IS - 1
ER -