A Comparison of Teachers' Supportive Behaviour in Middle High School Classroom in Taiwan, Shanghai-China, and Finland

Abstract

When evaluating the students' learning process, the previous mathematics curriculum in Taiwan valued rarely the role of inquiry and formative assessment. As an effort to understand the impact of this movement, the purpose with this study is to evaluate how Taiwan mathematics teachers perform specific tasks associated with three domains of instructional practices, including Teacher-directed Instruction, Formative Assessment and Teacher Support, drawing upon PISA 2012 data. Firstly, this study investigated the association between students' test scores in mathematics and student related factors that influence students' assessment of teachers in those skills. Next, compared the mathematics teachers in Taiwan with the mathematics teachers in Shanghai and Finland, which Taiwanese are always interested in. The study indicated that: controlling for the student characteristics, there is significant negative relationship between Formative Assessment and student mathematics achievement; the analyses suggested that there is no meaningful relationship between Teacher-directed Instruction and student mathematics score; Teacher Support is significantly but positively related to student mathematics achievement. Taiwan and Shanghai-China students are more likely to agree with availability of teacher support in their schools when compared with students in Finland.