Teacher Power in EFL Classroom: Associations with Classroom Interaction

Mengistu Anagaw

doi:10.7176/jlll/59-02

Abstract

Instructional communication is a field that studies behaviors that facilitate leaning in classroom communication. One among these behaviors is teacher power which refers to the transactional process where in teachers are granted different power bases. This study tried to investigate teacher power bases in terms of classroom interaction by involving a writing skills teacher and his 30 students in a first year writing classroom. The students responded to a questionnaire and the lessons were audio recorded and transcribed. Binary logistic regression was computed to see how the teacher power bases relate with classroom interaction permissibility while qualitative data is transcribed and thematically analyzed. The results indicated that the teachers’ major power originates from legitimate and expert power bases as well as reward sources and this is negatively associated with classroom interaction. Therefore, it is suggested that the teacher bases his lessons on alternative power sources that can permit students interactions. Keywords : teacher power, teacher power bases/ sources, classroom interaction& classroom interaction patterns DOI : 10.7176/JLLL/59-02 Publication date : August 31 st 2019

Highlights

Instructional Communication as a multifaceted concept is central to the classroom success that it has made McCroskey & Richmond (1983) to contend ‘...communication is the teaching process’
This study intends to investigate how teacher power bases associate with classroom interaction
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY The main objective of this study is investigating how teacher power bases associate with classroom interaction

Summary

Introduction

Instructional Communication as a multifaceted concept is central to the classroom success that it has made McCroskey & Richmond (1983) to contend ‘...communication is the teaching process’. Teacher power is one area of classroom communication research that has received considerable attention in the past three decades among such behaviors (Kearney, et al, 1985; Goodboy, et al; 2011). Teachers and students negotiate power and the task of negotiating power between students and instructors shows how they choose to interact (Goodboy, et al, 2011). In this regard, power, is defined as "the teacher's ability to influence students to do something they would not have done had they not been influenced" (Kearney et al, 1984). Teacher power is an important component of instructional communication

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