Teachers' perceptions of the factors that influence student achievement : a descriptive study
- WCU Author/Contributor (non-WCU co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
- Erica Nicole Pollock (Creator)
- Institution
- Western Carolina University (WCU )
- Web Site: http://library.wcu.edu/
- Advisor
- Candace Boan-Lenzo
Abstract: A substantial amount of research analyzing student academic achievement has beenconducted throughout the years. Hattie (2009) synthesized over 800 meta-analyses related toachievement. He organized this information into six broad groups that may influence studentachievement: Contributions of the Teacher, Contributions of the Curriculum, Contributions ofthe Teaching Approaches, Contributions of the Child, Contributions of the Home, andContributions of the School. While this knowledge is significant, there is no indication that thisevidence is being used in the schools and classrooms. Hattie expressed concerns about the gapbetween scientific evidence and practice in the schools.The overarching purpose of conducting this research was to gather information aboutwhat teachers perceive to be the factors that influence student achievement. Teachers have asignificant opportunity to influence student achievement. Thus, it is important for theirperceptions to align with research findings. When teachers’ perceptions align with the researchfindings, students may be educated in the most effective manner possible.For this study, participants were solicited from school districts that were willing toparticipate in a web-based survey to measure perceptions of factors that influence studentacademic achievement. Participants in this study included teachers working with elementary through high school students. There was even distribution of the participants who teach eachgrade level, with most participants having obtained either a Bachelor’s Degree or a Master’sDegree. The majority of the participants were female, veteran teachers that provide regulareducation services in traditional public schools. The sample had a disproportionate number ofparticipants in rural communities, with only a handful of nationally certified teachers.The online survey provider, Qualtrics, was used to create a survey for this research. TheTeachers’ Perceptions of the Factors that Influence Student Achievement Survey (see AppendixG) is a survey that was designed to gauge teachers’ perspectives regarding the factors thatinfluence student academic achievement. The survey first provided participants with an overviewof the survey questions, information about informed consent, and whom to contact if they hadany questions about the survey results. The survey gathered information on demographics,perceptions of the influence of each factor within the six broad categories, and rankings of mostimportant to least important factor within each group.The information gathered through this study suggests that teachers may not be aware ofthe current research findings regarding the factors that may impact student academicachievement. Results of this study suggested that teachers tend to evaluate most factors to impactstudent achievement in a positive direction.
Teachers' perceptions of the factors that influence student achievement : a descriptive study
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Created on 4/1/2015
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Additional Information
- Publication
- Other
- Language: English
- Date: 2015
- Keywords
- Achievement, Factors, Influence, Perceptions, Student, Teachers
- Subjects
- Academic achievement -- United States -- Evaluation
- Teachers -- United States -- Attitudes