Students' perceptions of teacher interpersonal style: The front of the classroom as the teacher's stage

In previous research, associations were shown between students' perceptions of teacher interpersonal style and variables such as student outcomes and problems with order in the classroom. In the study described in this paper, associations are investigated between these students' perceptions and judges' ratings of the interpersonal aspect of videotaped teacher behaviour. Judges only saw one minute of videotaped teacher behaviour during either whole class teaching or individual seatwork. Strong correlations were established between students' perceptions and judges' ratings of teacher behaviour during whole class teaching. No significant correlations were found between students' perceptions and judges' ratings of teacher behaviour during individual seatwork. It is argued that students' perceptions of teacher interpersonal style are primarily formed when the teacher is in front of the classroom. At those moments a working climate is created that lasts for the whole lesson and beyond. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.