Perceived teaching practice and its prediction of student engagement in Singapore

Abstract

This study examined teaching practice in Singapore mathematics classrooms and its prediction of student engagement. A large sample of Singapore Secondary 2 students first reported perceived teaching practice in their mathematics classrooms in Term 1 and their engagement in mathematics study in Term 2. Based on Rasch analysis of teaching practice, it was found that in general students perceived their mathematics teachers to be more learning-focused supportive than performance-focused controlling. Boys and low-achieving students from the normal stream perceived their teachers to be more performance-focused controlling. Hierarchical linear modeling found that at student level, students who perceived their teachers to be more performance-focused controlling reported higher classroom disruption, disorganization, and metacognitive self-regulation, and students who perceived their teachers to be more learning-focused supportive reported higher classroom attention and metacognitive self-regulation. At class level, perceived performance-focused teacher control positively predicted students’ disorganization. In addition, this study also found some cross-level interactions on classroom disruption. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.