How Students Categorize Teachers Based on Visual Cues: Implications of Nonverbal Communication for Classroom Management

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis article examines how students categorize teachers based on visual cues. The research drew on theories of social representations, social perception, and social categorization to study how students perceive and interpret teachers’ nonverbal communication. At a Finnish vocational college for culture studies, 17 paintings depicting a variety of people were shown to 65 students, who reflected on them as pictures of teachers. The data were analyzed applying membership categorization analysis. Five categories of teachers emerged from the data. The results show that students make inferences about teachers’ approachability and competence based on their visual cues, which might have implications for classroom management.