Student Involvement as a Dimension of the Student-Perceived Teaching Behavior of Post Secondary Educators

Abstract

Although several studies of the student-perceived teaching behavior of postsecondary educators have recognized student participation as a dimension of teacher behavior, few, if any, of these studies specifically describe the instructor's involvement of students in the design and operation of an educational program. The Educational Description Questionnaire, which con tains items describing student involvement behaviors, was developed for this study to test the hypothesis that students perceive these behaviors as a dimension of teacher behavior. It was ad ministered to 961 students by seventy-four instructors in four two-year colleges. Factor analysis of each of the sixty items on the questionnaires identified student-involvement behavior as a significant factor. Further research on the student-perceived behavior of postsecondary educators should include items that describe student involvement behaviors.