TEACHER-PUPIL RELATIONSHIPS - BLACK STUDENTS' PERCEPTIONS OF ACTUAL AND IDEAL TEACHER/PUPIL CONTROL BEHAVIOR AND ATTITUDES TOWARD TEACHERS AND SCHOOL

• NCJ Number: 51410
• Journal: Urban Education Volume: 13 Issue: 1 Dated: (APRIL 1978) Pages: 71-81
• Author(s): L M SWEETING; D J WILLOWER; A R HELSEL
• Date Published: 1978
• Length: 11 pages
• Corporate Author: Sage Publications, Inc
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

HYPOTHESES CONCERNING BLACK STUDENTS' PERCEPTIONS OF AND ATTITUDES TOWARD TEACHERS ARE TESTED IN A STUDY OF 834 BLACK FOURTH-GRADERS FROM 14 SCHOOLS IN A LARGE NORTHEASTERN CITY.

Abstract

THE STUDY EXPLORES THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE CONGRUENCE OF PUPILS' PERCEPTIONS OF AND PREFERENCES FOR TEACHER CONTROL BEHAVIOR, AND PUPILS' POSITIVE ATTITUDES TOWARD TEACHERS AND TOWARD SCHOOL. CONTROL BEHAVIOR IS CONCEPTUALIZED ALONG A CUSTODIAL-HUMANISTIC CONTINUUM AND IS MEASURED BY A 20-ITEM QUESTIONNAIRE. REGARDLESS OF THE DIRECTION OF STUDENTS' PREFERENCES (HUMANISTIC OR CUSTODIAL), THE MORE CLOSELY STUDENTS' PERCEPTIONS OF THEIR TEACHERS' ACTUAL BEHAVIOR APPROXIMATES THEIR CONCEPTIONS OF IDEAL TEACHER BEHAVIOR, THE MORE POSITIVE ARE THEIR ATTITUDES TOWARD TEACHERS AND TOWARD SCHOOL. THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE STUDENTS' PERCEPTIONS OF ACTUAL AND IDEAL TEACHER CONTROL BEHAVIOR AND THEIR ATTITUDES TOWARD TEACHERS IS SLIGHTLY STRONGER THAN THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PERCEPTIONS AND ATTITUDES TOWARD SCHOOL. ALTHOUGH IT HAD BEEN EXPECTED THAT STUDENTS WOULD PREFER HUMANISTIC CONTROL BEHAVIOR ON THE PART OF TEACHERS, THE DATA SHOW THAT STUDENTS PREFER MORE CUSTODIAL CONTROL BEHAVIOR THAN THEY PERCEIVE IS EXHIBITED BY THEIR TEACHERS. DATA FROM THIS STUDY AND FROM OTHER STUDIES SUGGEST THAT ELEMENTARY TEACHERS' IDEOLOGY AND CONTROL BEHAVIOR ARE MORE HUMANISTIC THAN THOSE OF SECONDARY TEACHERS. ONE TABLE AND A LIST OF REFERENCES ARE INCLUDED. THE STUDY INSTRUMENT IS NOT PROVIDED. (LKM)