Relations between perceptions of the teaching environment and approaches to teaching

Area of Science:

• Higher Education Pedagogy
• Educational Psychology
• Academic Staff Development

Background:

• Established links exist between student study approaches and learning environment perceptions.
• Recent research explores teachers' approaches to teaching and conceptions of teaching.
• Limited research has investigated teachers' perceptions of their specific teaching context.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an inventory measuring university teachers' perceptions of their teaching environment (PTE).
• To examine the relationship between teachers' PTE and their approaches to teaching.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative interviews with 13 university physics and chemistry teachers to identify factors affecting teaching.
• Content analysis of interviews to develop the PTE inventory.
• Quantitative analysis (correlational, factor, cluster) of PTE and Approaches to Teaching Inventory data from 46 university teachers.

Main Results:

• Systematic relationships were found between teachers' perceptions of their teaching environment and their teaching approaches.
• A conceptual change, student-focused teaching approach correlated with perceptions of teacher control over curriculum and pedagogy.
• Positive perceptions of departmental teaching value and manageable class sizes were associated with student-focused teaching.

Conclusions:

• Teachers' perceptions of their teaching context are significantly related to their pedagogical approaches.
• Improving higher education teaching and learning quality requires acknowledging and addressing teachers' contextual perceptions.
• The developed PTE inventory offers a tool for further research into the academic teaching environment.