A Meta-Analytical Review of Teacher Credibility and its Associations with Teacher Behaviors and Student Outcomes

Abstract

This meta-analysis reviews the findings of 51 studies (N = 14,378) examining the associations among teacher credibility, teacher behaviors, and student outcomes. When all three dimensions of credibility are considered collectively (i.e., competence, trustworthiness, and caring), the cumulative evidence indicates a moderate, meaningful relationship between teacher credibility and overall outcomes (r=.448). Similar overall effect sizes were observed for competence (r=.481), trustworthiness (r=.477), and caring (r=.554), though the overall effect size for caring was greater in magnitude than that obtained for credibility measured as a single factor (r=.294). On average, higher correlations were observed when researchers measured all three dimensions of credibility (r=.518) than when they only measured competence and character (r=.256). Collectively, the results highlight the unique contributions of perceived caring to the teacher credibility construct, as well as the meaningful role that teacher credibility plays in facilitating student learning.