The Teacher as One of the Factors Influencing Students' Perception of Biology as a School Subject
Keywords:
biology, perception, school subject, teacher, lower secondary school students
Abstract
The main aim of our research was to determine whether the teacher is one of the factors influencing students’ perception of biology as a school subject. The study also aimed to identify the influence of certain other factors in this regard, specifically: students’ gender and place of residence, the number of biology teachers who have taught the students, and the teachers’ gender. The sample consisted of 261 lower secondary school students (ISCED 2) in Slovakia, aged 14 and 15 years. A questionnaire with Likert-type items was used as a research instrument. The findings confirm the impact of the biology teacher on students’ perception of the subject. After removing the influence of the teacher, the students’ gender and place of residence did not have any significant influence on their perception of the subject. Two additional significant variables were the number of biology teachers who had taught the students and the teachers’ gender. The research confirmed that the teacher’s personality is one of the significant factors that can influence students’ perception of school subjects.
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(pp. 99–136) Washington, DC, US: American Psychological Association.
Byrne, C. J. (1983). Teacher knowledge and teacher effectiveness: A literature review, theoretical analysis and discussion of research strategy. Paper presented at the meeting of the Northwestern Educational Research Association, Ellenville, NY.
Cohen, E. H. (2005). Student evaluations of course and teacher: factor analysis and SSA approaches. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 30(2), 123–136.
Colley, A., & Comber, C. (2003). School subject preferences: age and gender differences revisited. Educational Studies, 29(1), 59–67.
Cronbach, L. J. (1951). Coefficient alpha and the internal structure of tests. Psychometrika, 16(3), 297–334.
Darling-Hammond, L. (1999). Teacher Quality and Student Achievement: A Review of State Policy Evidence. Seattle, WA: Center for the Study of Teaching and Policy, University of Washington.
Feng, L., & Ha, J.-L. (2016). Effects of teachers’ information literacy on lifelong learning and school effectiveness. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science & Technology Education, 12(6), 1653–1663.
Ferketich, S. (1991). Focus on psychometrics. Aspects of item analysis. Research in Nursing & Health, 14(2), 165–168.
Francis, B., Hutchings, M., Archer, L., & Melling, L. (2003). Subject choice and occupational aspirations among pupils at girls school. Pedagogy, Culture, & Society, 11(3), 425–442.
George, R., & Kaplan, D. (1998). A structural model of parent and teacher influences on science attitudes of eighth graders: Evidence from NELS: 88. Science Education, 92(1), 93–109.
Glenn, N. D., & Hill, L. H. (1977). Rural-urban differences in attitudes and behavior in the United States. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 429(1), 36–50.
Good, T. L., Sikes, J. N., & Brophy, J. E. (1973). Effects of teacher sex and student sex on classroom interaction. Journal of Educational Psychology, 65(1), 74–87.
Haladyna, T., Olsen, R., & Shaughnessy, J. (1983). Correlates of class attitude toward science. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 20(4), 311–324.
Jones, M. G., & Wheatley, J. (1990). Gender differences in teacher-student interactions in science classrooms. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 27(9), 861–874.
Juttner, M., Boone, M., Park, S., & Neuhaus, B. J. (2013). Development and use of a test instrument to measure biology teachers’ content knowledge (CK) and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). Educational Assessment, Evaluation and Accountability, 25(1), 45–67.
Kline, M. (1993). The handbook of psychological testing. Routledge: London.
Komarraju, M. (2013). Ideal teacher behaviors: Student motivation and self-efficacy predict preferences. Teaching of Psychology, 40(2), 104–110.
Luyten, J. W., & Snijders, T. (1996). Teacher effects and school effects. Educational Research and Evaluation, 2(1), 1–24.
Myers, R. E., & Fouts, J. T. (1992). A cluster analysis of classroom environments and attitude toward science. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 29(9), 929–937.
Opdenakker, M., & Van Damme, J. (2006). Teacher characteristics and teaching styles as effectiveness enhancing factors of classroom practice. Teaching and Teacher Education, 22(1), 1–22.
Osborne, J. W., & Costello, A. B. (2009). Best practices in exploratory factor analysis: Four recommendations for getting the most from your analysis. Practical Assessment, Research &
Evaluation, 10(7), 1–9.
Sekar, P., & Mani, S. (2013). Science attitude of higher secondary students. Indian Journal of Research, 2(1), 50–52.
Singh, K., Granville, M., & Dika, S. (2002). Mathematics and science achievement: Effects of motivation, interest, and academic engagement. Journal of Educational Studies, 95(6), 323–332.
Teppo, M., & Rannikmäe, M. (2003). Increasing the relevance of science education 61 - student preferences for different types of teaching scenarios. Journal of Baltic Science Education, 2(4), 49–61.
Thompson, B. (2004). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis: Understanding concepts and applications. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Trumper, R. (2006). Factors affecting junior high school students’ interest in biology. Science Education International, 17(1), 31–48.
Uitto, A. (2014). Interest, attitudes and self-efficacy beliefs explaining upper-secondary school students’ orientation towards biology-related careers. International Journal of Science and
Mathematics Education, 12(6), 1425–1444.
Wayne, A. J., & Young, P. (2003).Teacher characteristics and student achievement gains: A review. Review of Educational Research, 73(1), 89–122.
Weinburgh, M. H., & Englehard, G. (1994). Gender, prior academic performance and beliefs as predictors of attitudes toward biology laboratory experiences. School Science and Mathematics, 94(3), 118–123.
Zeidan, A. H. (2010). The relationship between grade 11 Palestinian attitudes toward biology and their perceptions of the biology learning environment. International Journal of Science and
Mathematics Education, 8(5), 783–800.
Zeidan, A. H., & Jayosi, M. R. (2015). Science process skills and attitudes toward science among Palestinian secondary school students. World Journal of Education, 5(1), 13–24.
Published
2017-06-30
How to Cite
Kubiatko, M., Torkar, G., & Rovnanova, L. (2017). The Teacher as One of the Factors Influencing Students’ Perception of Biology as a School Subject. Center for Educational Policy Studies Journal, 7(2), 127–140. https://doi.org/10.26529/cepsj.173
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