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Validating a model of effective teaching behaviour and student engagement: perspectives from Spanish students

Learning Environments Research volume 22, pages 229–251 (2019)Cite this article

Abstract

Research consistently shows that teaching behaviour is a highly-important indicator of learning environments. Based on a teacher effectiveness model with six observable teaching behaviour domains (safe learning climate, efficient classroom management, clarity of instruction, activating teaching, teaching–learning strategies, and differentiation), the present paper examines the psychometric quality of the My Teacher questionnaire for capturing student perceptions of teaching behaviour in the Spanish secondary-education context. Additionally, this study validated the model of teaching behaviour and student engagement and its relevance in Spain. 7114 students of 410 teachers attending 56 public and private Spanish schools constituted the sample. The six teaching behavioural dimensions model were confirmed in the Spanish context. Regarding student academic engagement, the presence of two domains (behavioural and emotional engagement) were confirmed. Furthermore, results of a multiple-group structural equation modeling path analysis, examining the relationship between teaching behaviour and student engagement across different teaching experiences, revealed differential effects of teaching behaviour influences on students’ engagement. The percentage of explained variance was larger for emotional engagement than for behavioural engagement. Furthermore, teachers’ teaching experience explained differences in the relationship between perceived teaching behaviour and engagement. Two domains (learning climate and activating teaching) appeared to be the two most-important teaching domains for students’ behavioural engagement while, for emotional engagement, the most important domains for student engagement were learning climate and teaching learning strategies.

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Notes

  1. Observable classroom teaching behaviours include a teacher giving instruction for students in the classroom. This type of behaviour can be observed by external individuals or students. This is distinguishable from other teaching behaviours that are not observable in the classroom such as a teacher planning a lesson (Maulana and Schuurman 2018).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Teacher Training and Education, University of Oviedo, Aniceto Sela, s/n, Room 213, 33005, Oviedo, Spain

    Mercedes Inda-Caro, Carmen-María Fernández-García, José-Vicente Peña-Calvo & M. del Carmen Rodríguez-Menéndez

  2. Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, University of Groningen, Grote Kruisstraat 2/1, 9712TS, Groningen, The Netherlands

    Ridwan Maulana & Michelle Helms-Lorenz

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  1. Mercedes Inda-Caro
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  2. Ridwan Maulana
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Correspondence to Carmen-María Fernández-García.

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Inda-Caro, M., Maulana, R., Fernández-García, CM. et al. Validating a model of effective teaching behaviour and student engagement: perspectives from Spanish students. Learning Environ Res 22, 229–251 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10984-018-9275-z

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